The Four Agreements #4 - Always Do Your Best by Psychic Angelica

"By doing your best, the habits of misusing your word, taking things personally and making assumptions will become weaker and less frequent with time.  You don't need to judge yourself, feel guilty or punish yourself if you cannot keep these agreements.  If you are doing your best, you will feel good about yourself even if you still make assumptions, still take things personally, and still are not impeccable with your word."  - Don Miguel Ruiz

The Fourth Agreement in the book The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz is my favorite and my daily mantra: Always Do Your Best. Always doing your best means that you consistently give your best effort under the circumstances.  

This concept of always doing your best ties into the practice of honoring the present moment.  When you completely accept the moment, your attention will be focused on the task at hand.  Being present means you are not regretting what you are doing now or wishing you were somewhere else. Staying grounded in the present moment and giving your best effort will totally transform your life.

How does one stay present in order to do their best?  Here are some of my…

6 Daily Habits and Rituals to Help Keep You Centered.

1. Morning guided mindfulness meditation. The perfect way to begin your day with focused intention to be present. There are plenty of guided meditations for staying present on the internet.  Choose one that resonates with you and try it every morning for a week. You will experience a shift in your energy.  As within, so without. 
2. Single task. By nature, I am a multi-tasker, however when I choose to focus on one task at a time, I find myself able to give my attention directly to what I am doing.  Therefore, I am more in alignment to do my best.
3. Practice Gratitude. If we are not present, we often miss the wonderful gifts in front of us to be grateful for.  By working to practice gratitude, we cultivate our awareness skills and remind ourselves of the positivity that can come from staying present.
4. Slow down. Pause between activities. Take time to notice your surroundings before you move on to the next thing on your to do list.
5. Unplug. Take time away from technology.  Seek inspiration from nature and loved ones. Enjoy a nice relaxing bath. Spend time simply “being” and not “doing.”
6. Practice prayer and meditation. Make time for quiet reflection.  Give your mind a break to gain clarity.  Take at least 10-15 minutes each day to be present and just watch your breath and use this time for spiritual contemplation and reflection.

When I observe this agreement, I look at the misconception of energy and effort.  Doing our best means doing what we do with an energy of excitement and gratitude.  There is a big difference between action and inspired action.  Most people act when there is a reward involved rather than from a place of joy.  If your actions are enjoyed, they come from your heart not your head.  Rewards may come, but that is not the motivation of your action. Don Miguel Ruiz says, "When you ae doing your best for just the pleasure of it, you are taking actions because you enjoy the action.  Actions are about living fully."

Perfectionism is not the same as striving to do our best.  When we make the conscious choice to do our best in that moment, we are also accepting outside circumstances that may be involved. No matter what is going on around you if you choose to do your best you can feel good about the outcome.  Remember, your best is going to change from moment to moment.  It will be different when you are feeling healthy as opposed when you are not.

Why do your best? Because doing your best leaves you feeling happy and fulfilled.

The Four Agreements #4 - Benefits of Always Doing Your Best:

1. You are more productive. When we always do our best, we are giving 100 percent of ourselves in that moment.  We will automatically see more achievement on a tangible level.
2. We are kinder to ourselves. Walking away from anything knowing we gave and did our best makes us feel good and we are less likely to beat ourselves up for not doing our best. 
3. We are happier. Happiness is an inside job.  It is obvious when we feel accomplished and successful, we have the emotion of happiness show up.  Which leaves zero room for doubting ourselves. 
4. No regrets. Always doing our best ensures that we have no regrets because no matter the outcome we genuinely know we did the best of our ability in that moment.

Self-acceptance, confidence and compassion for one’s self are key ingredients that are at the foundation of always doing our best.  Sometimes lack of effort can come when we feel drained of energy and feel overwhelmed with responsibilities. The next time you start becoming negative and are struggling with enthusiasm and engagement try some new ways to regain your balance. 

Accept both your positive and negative feelings.  Don't try to resist or avoid your feelings.  They are natural.  As you become more self-accepting of yourself you can begin to work through the challenges - one challenge at a time. When we are able to acknowledge our thoughts and feelings it becomes easier to decide what the best course of action is and begin to move forward, feel unstuck and motivated again. 

Trust and Follow Your Intuition

Believing in yourself and trusting your intuition helps us to have the confidence, take risks and live more fully.  Trust you will make the right choices. When you follow your intuition, you will be provided with the answers you need.  When we have compassion for ourselves, we allow for things to not always go the way we wanted them to go, even when have done our best.  Trust that "mistakes" are part of the journey and the lessons that assist us in making new choices.  Self-acceptance is being kind to yourself.  Remember you are the most important person to take care of.  This includes mind/body/spirit.  Learn to forgive yourself and nurture your health and well-being. If there is one thing that boosts confidence, it is accomplishing goals.  Setting small goals you can achieve and accomplish gives you a sense of completion.  

For me always doing my best means always being my best.  This requires being conscious of my thoughts, words and actions.  I believe that the present moment is the creator of all my future moments.  When I focus on being my best, doing my best almost feels effortless.  Being my best means accepting myself for who I am and being open to change and spiritual growth so that I may continue to live my life fully, fearlessly and unapologetically. 

I will leave you with one of my favorite excerpts from The Four Agreements - Agreement #4:

"If you do your best in the search for personal freedom, in the search for self-love, you will discover that it is just a matter of time before you find what you are looking for.  It's not about daydreaming or sitting for hours in meditation.  You have to stand up and be a human.  You have to honor the man or woman you are.  Respect your body, enjoy your body, love your body, feed, clean and heal your body.  Exercise and do what makes your body feel good.  This is a puja to your body, and that is a communion between you and God." Don Miguel Ruiz

Sending you much light and love.  Feel free to reach out to me at extension 9393 for a psychic reading and to tap into new and exciting ways to tap into your full potential of Always Doing Your Best! 

In gratitude,

Angelica