Always Do Your Best

March was filled with many wonderful events.  I hosted a donation-based class for Mindful March/Love Your Brain (we raised almost $1000!), threw my mom a surprise birthday party, started an 85-hr Prenatal Yoga Teacher Training, co-led a retreat with the lovely T'ai Jamar Hanna to the Dominican Republic with 15 beautiful retreaters and celebrated my sweetheart's birthday.  My cup was overflowing.

Although all such positive life happenings, i still felt a sense of overwhelm. A book that guided me through the month is an oldie but goodie- The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz.  Filled with wisdom shared from The Toltec in Mexico- 'scientists and artists who formed a society to explore and conserve the spiritual knowledge and practices of the ancient ones'.  The book speaks of 4 Agreements one must make to oneself in order to challenge one's beliefs and come out of a dream like state in order to 'wake-up'. 

The 4 Agreements are: 'Be Impeccable with Your Word'; 'Don't Take Anything Personally'; 'Don't Make Assumptions'; "Always Do Your Best'.

I have picked the book up numerous times since it was given to me many years back by my aunt. Each time i pick it up a different agreement calls to me and i hold that agreement in the forefront of my mind for quite a while until it naturally becomes part of my being.  

The one that called to me this past month was 'Always Do Your Best'. I tend to give myself a hard time... about everything i do.  I can be so tender with others but quite harsh on myself- for example, after teaching a workshop, even if i receive positive feedback, i could stew in the  "i should have done, or i should have said" for hours, even days!  For me, this brutality of self usually leads to immobility and wanting to quit what i am doing.  Instead, this month I chose to make "Always Do Your Best' a sort of mantra for me.  As i went through the classes, the arrangements, the travels, the gift giving, the teaching, the studying, the testing-- i chose to say to myself 'You Did Your Best, Hedy!' and shortly after i was feeling good in my heart and moving onto the next.  Not stewing, not over thinking, not being self-critical, not 'should-ing' all over myself.  It felt AMAZING- i felt illuminated and FREE.

The belief that i needed to be hard on myself may have served me at some point in my life, but not anymore. It's not always easy to change outdated beliefs- they have guided us and probably even served us at some point in our lives.  The trick is to become AWARE and CONSCIOUS of those beliefs that do not serve us anymore and honestly ask yourself, is this still true for me?