I’m reading the first chapter of Best Self: Be You, Only Better, by Coach Mike Bayer.  And right away I’m supposed to do this exercise.  Describe my best self.  Oh no.  I put the bookmark at the page and close it.  I don’t know what to say about myself.

The next day I tell myself to just do.  I mean, I’ve done harder and scarier things than this.  Why am I avoiding this?

Fortunately, the book has a list of words that you can use to describe yourself.  As part of the exercise, I can simply choose words that sound like me.  I can handle that to start.  So I write those down.

Now it’s flowing a bit easier.  And then Coach Mike asks me to write it almost like a story.  He chose a wizard named Merlin as his best self.

Oh.  I can call myself someone other than my name?  That’s cool.  Now it’s almost as if I’m writing about someone else.  And it’s way easier.

Now I’m into it.  Having fun even.  Creating this character that’s me and yet isn’t.  Who’s better than I am most of the time, but has my best character traits.  Yeah.  Fun.  Until he tells me to draw her.

Gulp.  My drawings look like stick figures.  And I don’t know how to make them show any emotion or character.  I really don’t have any idea how to draw her.  (By the way, I’ve named her Sheela and Singer.  Sheela’s Irish and means “pure and musical”.  I had to pick it because it has music in it.)

I start with the head.  ‘Cause that’s how I always start when I’m doing what is meant to pass for drawing a person.  And it’s perfectly oval, as if the chin isn’t thinner than the rest of the head.  You gotta laugh, right?  Fortunately, I’m doing this in pencil, so I can erase it and try and make what passes for a chin.

Now I decide I want an evening gown on, because I’m singing after all.  I try and draw that.  Then I try to make feet that don’t just look like the head I drew earlier.  That might pass for elegant shoes you’d wear with a gorgeous gown.  I draw a heart, then add arms reaching toward her left, and hair.  Lots or erasing happens before I’ll accept it, and that’s using the term loosely.

Next, I use my colored pencils to add some color, draw a second person whose hand is holding Sheela’s, and I’m done.

(c) Kathleen Thompson

The drawing is better than almost any other time I’ve tried to draw a person.  I don’t think I’ll be making prints and selling them on Etsy, but it at least sort of captures the essence of who I think Sheela the Singer, my best self, is.  And I’m really glad I did this.

There was something about first writing a story about my best self, and then drawing it, that was powerful.  I don’t think I’ll forget it too soon.  Especially if I print my picture and keep it in sight.  The picture will remind me of the words.

Now I can’t wait to read the rest of Coach Mike’s new book.  You can read it too.  It just came out today.  Here’s a link if you want to get one for yourself, or even share with a friend.  So you can do this powerful exercise too.  You can see your best self in full living color. And then live it out. You might even be her or him more often.

What’s one word or phrase that describes your best self? I’d love it if you’d share in the comments.