As a kid I was a diehard Chicago Bulls fan. The dynasty during the 90s created some of the greatest Chicago sports memories of all time. Countless hours on our driveway basketball court pretending to hit the game winning shot against the Utah Jazz or imagining I could take off from the free throw line to dunk. I always wanted to be like Mike.
I was certainly not alone. The “if I could be like Mike” mantra swept the country. Whatever Mike was doing on the court you’d see imitations at playgrounds across the country. We all wanted to be like Mike.
As I fast forward to today, the idea of wanting to be someone else feels a little more like deception. When we see someone successful at something we want to excel at, we start to force who we are into a model of what we think this successful person is. No longer do we focus on becoming our best authentic self. Instead, we shift energy and focus into fitting what we perceive this model of success to be.
Admittedly, I’ll at times fall into this trap. As I practice zooming out and getting perspective, I realize it’s not about becoming like this person we’re admiring. Instead, it’s about picking up all these clues that successful people send out into the world. The recipe isn’t becoming just like this person you admire. It’s about picking up the clues they put out into the world on how to be successful to then tailor it to your own authentic journey of growth.
Find a great leader. Find someone that excels in health and fitness. Find someone that’s heavily involved in the community. Don’t try to become them but instead, find ways to learn from their successes to enhance your authentic style.
Our journey of growth is not meant to be put in a box to follow a certain model. The journey is meant to learn from those that have had success to pick up ideas on how to further our own growth – by being no one other than ourselves.
Take your step: this week when the thought comes to mind of admiration for someone else, take a moment to flip your mind to asking what clues they are leaving right now. What behaviors, insights, learnings from failures, and so on can be gathered to then add to your own experiences in your authentic growth journey.