Longing to be different and shorting yourself

“You will make a lousy anybody else, but you will be the best ‘you’ in existence.” — Zig ZiglarOne of the things I have heard from other people throughout my life is that they wish they could be like someone else. I have heard things like, “I wish I was as pretty as she is,” or “I wish that I could play tennis like he can.” Maybe it sounds like this too, “I wish I could sell like she can,” or “I wish I could remember and tell jokes like he can.”We see and hear it time and time again, don’t we? We see and hear others who want to behave, act, look or sound like someone else. And in their quest to become something or someone that they are not, they completely compromise who they are and sell themselves short on their ability to achieve and receive all that life has to offer.And it’s not just individuals. We can observe the same thing happen in business and when we watch professional sports as well. Companies see a competitor doing something that on the surface may look like a good idea so they try and emulate or copy their competition, leaving the very foundation that helped build their business and brand. They compromise who they really are by trying to live up to something they are not, and probably do not believe in, either.Teams or professional athletes that are enjoying success sometimes change their game plan based on their opponent. It makes sense to adapt and adjust a little bit to capitalize on strengths and exploit weaknesses, but how many times do we witness a team or athlete over-compensate, make a departure from how they play and how they execute their game plan, only to find themselves playing their opponent’s game and not their own? It usually ends up in an upset or a loss.Every one of us has the ability to assess where we are in life and how we are currently going about our personal and professional lives. If a change is necessary to help each one of us achieve a goal or to reach a higher level of success, we can and should certainly make the changes necessary to meet and exceed our goals. But if we are changing just to try and become like someone else, we will never be satisfied and happiness will continue to elude us.Just stop and think about your own traits, values, and track record of success. You may sell yourself short, but I would just bet that you have no idea how many people wish they could be just like you too. They wish they had your looks, work ethic, loyalty, capacity to love, ability to forgive, your eye for fashion, commitment to fitness, happiness, calm demeanor, thoughtful insights, listening skills, ability to speak in public, salesmanship, parenting skills or depth of faith.You see, you don’t have to be anyone else. You don’t have to compete with anyone else or on anyone else’s level. You don’t have to change your game plan to try and win, you just have to be true to yourself and who you are. Stay in your game, stay within yourself, reaching higher when you are ready and when you decide that you want to reach higher, not because you feel like you have to change to be like someone else or for something else.How about you? Have you ever felt the need to change who you are and what you are for the sake of someone else or do you stay true to who you are? Either way, I would love to hear your thoughts about it at gotonorton@gmail.com, and when we are true to ourselves it really will be a better than good week.Michael Norton is a resident of Highlands Ranch, the former president of the Zig Ziglar Corporation and the CEO/founder of www.candogo.com.