Do you have bad days? a study was done amongst elite athletes and they reported to having between 3 to 6 bad days per month.  They understand that having a bad day is simply part of the process. The ability to accept these fluctuations in performance allows athletes to remain fully engaged in their training and keep their goals high.

my friend Brian Johnson from Optimize asks you to consider this: What if you suffer from a case of mistaken identity on those days? Who you think you are is not actually who you are. What you think you are here to do is not actually what you are here to do. What you think you are capable of is actually only a hint of your true ability.

Consider for a moment that you are totally wrong about yourself—and wrong about this infinite universe in which you live. What if that’s true? What if most of us live our entire lives and never know who we actually are, why we are here, and what we are supposed to do while visiting this planet? What if we have amnesia and we forgot who we really are right before we left our mother’s body and entered the world? I think this is exactly our state.

Who we think we are is not who we are. We are much, much more than our perceived selves. The Buddhists have a saying: ‘Don’t mistake the finger pointing to the moon for the moon itself.’ We think our ego—our persona—is who we really are. But this is only to the same extent that your clothes, your hairstyle, and your personality are who you are. In order to reach your full potential—your greatness—you must first admit that you are wrong about yourself.”

This line sums it up pretty well: “Who we think we are is not who we are. We are much, much more than our perceived selves.” And, know this: “In the battle of mind versus body, mind always wins!” Therefore, we’d be wise to step back and realize that we’re a LOT more than just the little version of ourselves that are pointing at the moon.
Campbell’s wisdom comes to mind: “What am I? Am I the bulb that carries the light, or am I the light of which the bulb is a vehicle?”

So does Walter Russell’s wisdom: “Early in life I found that to achieve greatness one had to go only one inch beyond mediocrity, but that one inch is so hard to go that only those who become aware of God in them can make the grade, for no one can achieve that one inch alone.”

Then there’s Eric Butterworth: “You may say, ‘But I am only human.’ This is the understatement of your life. You are not only human—you are also divine in potential. The fulfilment of all your goals and aspirations in life depends upon stirring up and releasing more of that divine potential. And there is really nothing difficult about letting this inner light shine. All we must do is correct the tendency to turn off our light when we face darkness.”

All of which brings us back to you. Do you suffer from a case of mistaken identity? 🙂

How would you live if you REALLY got the infinite power within yourself?

Is NOW a good time to start being that version of you?

P.S. Recall the etymology of the word identity that we discussed in our Notes on Atomic Habits. It means “repeated beingness.” So… Go be that best version of you. Repeatedly!)

So, I’m sure that people have had bad days since the beginning of history, let’s have a look at what they have said about it:

1. Elite athletes and entertainers have 3 to 6 bad days a month. yet they go out and perform on the biggest stages on the planet, you can do it on your version.

2. I saw this and had to include it as the cute animal shot of the day: The Christmas Hippo Song.

3. Daily practice 101, When you wake up, place your hand on your heart.

4. Probably the major thing that brought the tattoo removal business into prominence: Shout out to my Ex.

5. Nina Arianda Matijcio is an American actress. She won the 2012 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performance as Vanda Jordan in Venus in Fur and was nominated for the 2011 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for portraying Billie Dawn in Born Yesterday. In 2016, she began starring in Amazon Studios’ legal series Goliath. In 2018, she appeared in the biographical film, Stan & Ollie.

6. Was it really a bad day, or just a growth day: Learning to Fly.

7. A solution not possible for everyone, sometimes connection can lift the funk just as well.

8. Or you could just sleep most of the day, I’ve tried this: The Little Power Nap.

9. Simply put, we need the Shadow and the Light.

10. Or naked: The Audience is Naked?

11. I had a few of these bad days.

12. Life goes on, choose to have more good days than bad: A Little Bit Stronger.

13. Perhaps this was part of his Conversations with God.

14. Your dream is still calling you: Hello.

15. The lesson for today, if you live in the first world, there are billions worse off than you.