One of my favorite Biblical stories is from the book of Exodus and tells of the Jews flight from Egypt.

It goes something like this.

The Israelites, newly liberated from the bondage of slavery, are confronting the harsh realities of the Sinai desert. More immediately, by the need for food.

After devoted prayer from their faithful leader they wake one morning to discover they have been blessed with “manna from heaven”. The bread-like substance fills their stomachs and nourishes their body. Life is good!

As the story goes a few of the Jews, cautious about relying on an unseen power to deliver their sustenance, decide on a plan to gather up and store each day’s excess manna just in case. Literally and figuratively, they took manna into their own hands.

The results?

To their dismay they find that the previous day’s manna becomes bug-infested and is inedible. They now have no choice. They can do little else but trust that they will be provided for each day.

And provided for they were. Each and every morning (except on the Sabbath but provisions were made) they are graced with a new and abundant food to fuel their journey.

The moral of the story is clear. Relax. No need to hoard. You’ll be given what you need, when you need it. Let go of yesterday and open to the gifts of today.

What is the old manna that you cling to in your life today? Are you grasping, not trusting that life will bring you continued opportunities for happiness, abundance and purpose?

Examine the landscape of your life. Do you see evidence of your own tired manna?

• closets filled with clothing you don’t really like and mostly don’t wear
• excess belongings cluttering your space and your possibilities
• patterns of shuffling boxes or piles creating a false sense of busyness and productivity
• personal habits that distract and detract from your goals and vision
• relationships that have become forced and keep you in a role you no longer enjoy

Though our lives are over flowing with stuff, we like the Israelites feel vulnerable. We see the world through fearful eyes and react by holding on. We too, take manna into our own hands.

This is your challenge- stop and look honestly at your choices. What motivates them? If you find that it’s a fear that the universe might not deliver, consider letting go – just a little each day. Look at your home and create some fresh space. Eliminate an activity that you have a gut feeling is not right for you anymore. Do something that represents trust in something bigger than the circumstances of the day.

And when you do, breathe in your new space and look toward the heavens. Your manna is coming.

Comparing yourself to another is a common practice. Friends, colleagues, classmates even family members become the yardstick that we measure ourselves against.

Are we better, smarter, kinder or are we not?

At it’s best this dubious strategy promotes winners and losers. More commonly, it is an all-lose game.

When we compare ourselves to others we do harm.

• We place our worth outside of ourselves a disempowering practice fated for dissatisfaction and unhappiness.
• We tarnish our ability to support a cohort by unwittingly casting them as our competitor.
• We engage in a belief that at it’s core shouts to us that “there is not enough”.

There is a better way to compare. Let the subject be yourself.

How did I do today in moving toward my goal? Have I made progress on that nagging character trait I am trying to change? What did I say I was going to do and what did I do? Am I becoming a better worker, mate, parent, or citizen?

Comparing yourself to yourself is a system of accountability. Accountability promotes honesty, responsibility, esteem and personal development.

So go ahead and see how you stack up. Let the test you need to pass be your own. The world will be a better place for it.

“If you want better next moments, live this one to the best of your ability.’ This quote has its origin in words from Oprah. For me it is a game-changer.

Why? It calls us to this very moment. Right now. It dispels the trance of “I don’t know how”, “it’s too hard”, “they don’t like me”, or “I’ll never get there”. It tells me in the simplest most profound way that now matters. It says stop thinking and start living – NOW!

In my coaching groups I send surprise pop-quiz emails announcing special days – It’s national “Do Worst First Day” or “Focus Only on the Good” Day. The group is then urged to live fully the spirit of that designated day.

“Do the Best You Can” Day goes like this. Everything you do that day, be the best you can at it. Driving your car, brushing your teeth, being an employee, engaging with your colleagues, sending emails, being a husband, everything! As coach, I provide support by sending text reminders and encourage report-backs via email.

One of the objectives is to have them experience the difference between being empowered and disempowered. In coming into the moment, you seize control of your life. You drop the useless story that keeps you in the cycle of not enough-ness. You also find a new spirit and resilience. A new story, a transformational moment, a game changer.

Go ahead and try it, right now be the best you can be. It will be challenging, annoying, fun and invigorating. Any effort is a victory and there are endless opportunities for practicing.

I don’t know about you but I just sat up a little straighter in my chair. I feel better already.

As a kid I was confronted with a nightly dilemma at dinner. My plate of food inevitably consisted of protein, carbs and vegetables. I hated vegetables. My only recourse (I thought) was to go worst last. I would dive into the meat and potato hoping against hope that somehow those veggies would disappear or my parents would have a change of heart. With each bite of roast beef however my discomfort grew. The looming specter of graying, boiled vegetables slowly crowded out my pleasure.The task before me seemed insurmountable.Countless meals ground to a halt this way. If I had only known about worst first.

What is worst first mentality? It’s taking your to-do list and instead of going for the easy, low hanging fruit first (the meat and potatoes) you identify the most disagreeable task (the green beans)and take it on, giving it your full measure.

The benefits of living a worst first strategy?

• Start with a victory! Tackling your biggest foe first has a two-fold effect. One you are rewarded with an invigorating flow of positive energy due to your esteem-enhancing actions. Two you are lighter for eliminating the heavy weight from your list. All that energy that gets eaten up by the “looming specter” is now applied elsewhere.
• Develop a self-image of being an obstacle buster. How you feel about yourself can easily be the difference between smooth and hard, success and same old, same old. When you see yourself as a task-slaying warrior you are building a new relationship with yourself. It feels good, really good. You will want more of this feeling. This is critical for making change. It’s from the inside!

The potential pitfalls of doing a worst last mentality?

• Feeding the monster. Rather than freeing your mind of the “looming specter” you instead are being weighed down and “occupied” by the disagreeable task. The monster is mostly a figment of your imagination. To avoid it gives it power.

  Reinforcing a limited story of yourself. As you put off the worst task it becomes progressively harder to tackle. This can lead to procrastination. What’s next is the messy bog of self-condemnation followed by more evasion via TV, food, etc. Now a molehill has turned into the mountain of your past.

How do you begin a worst first mindset? For the next two weeks make it a practice to first identify the one task that makes you a bit squeamish. Give it a time limit if it is something that needs to be broken into multiple days. This will give you a start time and an end time. Summon up your courage and get started on it. Gauge your results and send me an email to report back.

Remember you are cultivating a new mentality along with a new way of being. This is not a one and done venture.Keep practicing. Know you are building a solid foundation for making big change. Oh and one other thing- you’ll find the vegetables were pretty good afterall.

In the movie Annie Hall, Woody Allen’s character compares a relationship to a shark- “It has to constantly move forward or it dies”. The idea is the same with this tip.

Camping out inside your comfort zone is luxuriously seductive and dangerously deceptive. The allure of avoidance which provides short-term relief, imperceptively becomes your gathering executioner.

Your comfort zone is not meant to be a way of life. It is a place to rest, rejuvenate and replenish. That’s all. From there you are called to move back out seeking your next stretch action- taking small risks, meeting new people, testing new concepts and skills, saying yes when you want to say no. Leaning into life not laying down on it.

Can it be scary? Yes. Is it worth it? Absolutely. Do you have a choice? For a while yes but sooner or later the chickens come home to roost.

Paradoxically when you make taking stretch actions your new normal, your zone of comfort expands. Your capacity to handle whatever life serves up is fortified.

How do you do it? Start from right where you are- today. Make it your new guiding mantra- where can I stretch today? Identify two or three instances where you eschew your lair of comfort and march the road of more resistance.

Start small and collect victories. Watch as your new identity as an obstacle buster exhilarates you and propels you to greater triumphs. Celebrate your integrated relationship with life knowing you are a shark on the move.