Why I Won't Bring My "A" Game

I refuse to "bring my A game." When I hear someone say, "Bring your A game," I cringe. This is an expression in the United States which is supposed to mean "Do your best." An "A" in academics means that you have achieved the top mark, grade, or score in a subject.

The problem with the saying, however, is that it implies that there is a B game, C game, etc. You don’t have an A without a B. Just like you don't have a One without a Two.

If there weren't other letters or numbers, you could simply say, "Bring it!" or "Bring it on!" And this is exactly what YOU should bring. It. Your best. Every time.

Why would anyone have different levels of achievement? Is it that in some situations they don't want to try as hard or do their best? Are there any situations in which you would want to "bring your F game"? Well, there must be if you have an "A game."

Why would that be the case? Why would anyone be involved in anything in which they used less than their total capability? The way I see it, you either do your best or you don't do anything. You either go all the way, or you go home. You either shoot for the stars, or you don't shoot at all.

Sure, there will be times when sickness, weather conditions, other people, etc. cause your best in that moment to be less than your best in another moment. This does not in any way excuse you from doing things to the best of your capability in that moment.

Additionally, this is not a contest against others. The only contestant is YOU. Your best time running a marathon may be a lot slower than that of an Olympic athlete. That's fine. Your best singing voice may not be as pleasing to as many people as that of a professional singer. That's fine. The point is that you are doing YOUR personal best.
What often happens, and this is a true crime, is that we tend to do as well as the worst examples around us. We do this so that we won’t "stand out" or "rock the boat" or disturb "the way things are done around here."

This is all nonsense. These are feeble fear-based excuses for settling for less than what we really are.

Worse than this, maybe you are the best in your class or field of expertise or office. Maybe you out-sell, out-shine, and out-perform everyone around you. Yet, you know in your heart that you are capable of so much more. You are operating at half-speed while the rest are at their top speed. What a crime! All that wasted, unused potential! Why aren't you doing YOUR best? So what if it puts you way out in front. Guess what - there are more people up ahead in the distance who you don’t even know about because you are simply trying to keep ahead of your group.

Get moving! Run at YOUR top speed! Be YOUR best! Reach YOUR potential! We don't want to see what you can do "without even studying" or what you "could do with one hand tied behind your back."

We want to see what you can do when you shine like the Sun, run like the wind, and fight like your life depended on it!

Think about it. Do you really want to reach the end of your life and say, "Wow, I could have been and done so much more."? NO! Nobody wants that.

So put down the alcohol, cigarettes, worthless friends, or whatever it is that you have added to your life to slow you down. Start believing in yourself! Get up! Stand up tall! Get moving! And keep moving! Bring it all, bring it on! Every time!

Steve G. Jones, Clinical Hypnotherapist
http://www.betterlivingwithhypnosis.com/