“Do Better”. Something I repeatedly said to people when they were being a bit pants, way before I came on the performance coaching scene. When I made the leap into nutrition and mindset, it was the obvious choice as my “catch phrase”.
But I have some explaining to do. Because some of you over-achievers have taken it all the wrong way. Sure, there’s a literal meaning to the phrase and yes, of course I want you to all, “do better”, but what does that ACTUALLY look like?
“Do Better” isn’t a rally cry to conquer the world, one overachievement at a time. No, it’s not about adding another zero to your revenue or shaving a minute off your marathon time, although those might be nice side effects. “Do Better” is about the sophistication of simplicity…
It’s not about being THE best, it’s about being YOUR best.
Imagine this: You’re at a child’s birthday party, awkwardly mingling with other parents, boasting about their offspring’s accomplishments and their own, presumably by osmosis. It’s easy to fall into the trap, to think, “I must do better than them.” But that’s the mirage, the illusory oasis in the desert of societal expectations.
“Doing Better” isn’t about crushing the competition or being a paragon of productivity. It’s about refining your personal best. Whether you’re running a 5K or running a company, it’s about improvement, not supremacy. Your race is yours alone. It’s you against you—your doubts, your procrastination, your yesterday’s self.
But it’s also not about RESULTS.
“Do better” is a process. If you consistently think that doing better, being your best is all about performing better than you did yesterday, last week or last year, then you will be disappointed and experience the unnecessary sense of failure that comes your way when circumstances bend beyond your control. Doing better, means finding a way to enjoy an effective process toward a goal, with the goal itself merely being a point of enjoyment and celebration, a way marker on a journey to freedom and success.
Freedom and success are your own custom blend!
You’ve seen those Instagram quotes, “Create the life you can’t wait to wake up to,” sandwiched between a photo of a serene beach and a pretentiously arty flat white. That’s someone else’s “better.” Yours? It could be a family dinner where no phones are at the table, or it could be the freedom to pick up your kids from school every day without checking with the boss—because you are the boss.
“Doing Better” is recognising that your version of freedom and success may not look like a stock photo. It’s the freedom to choose and the success in living out those choices—tailored to your life’s measurements. And when I say “do better”, quite often, I’m asking you to choose your OWN path. I’m prompting you to ask the right questions of yourself, that make you get after what you really want, not what others told you you want or how you should behave.
Constant improvement isn’t always healthy.
One of the things I’ve really realised over the past twelve months when life has been challenging, is that the internet is already full enough of people pushing constant self-improvement. We all must meditate to find our true selves, drink mushroom coffee instead of caffeine so we’re not overstimulated, take three hour long walks in the woods before dawn to find our real souls…
But what about just working out how to have fun again? Isn’t that what life is really about? When I distil down the times when I said “do better” and what I REALLY want people to get out of it, it’s this: Allow yourself and those around you to live an authentic, comfortable and joyful life! Nothing more. Be curious about the world around you, don’t judge others by your own standards but instead try to see the world through theirs, encourage yourself and those around you to enjoy all the processes you start, whatever the way markers along the way might be.
Remember, “Doing Better” is not about relentless striving. It’s about evolving, about shaping a life that resonates with you. It’s about understanding that your “better” is yours alone, and it’s not measured by anyone else’s yardstick but your own.
Now, lace up those shoes or fire up that laptop if you must. But do it with the understanding that “Doing Better” is a personal journey, one where success is not just about the milestones but the growth between them. And trust me, if anyone can redefine what it means to truly “Do Better,” it’s you.