I think we are all born with a natural compulsion to get somewhere. From an early age we learn to master certain skills. We learn how to take care of the baby doll the best, drive a toy truck on a road, put together a puzzle, match the animal with the sound it makes, cook something with our toy kitchen, or develop coordination to finally hit the ball with a bat or figure out those damn shoelaces. Once in school, we are expected to learn to even more, whether it be how to add two numbers together or everything that goes into the lost art of the written word, or even just how to follow directions or respect authority. We are expected to earn passing remarks and advance to the next grade, the next school, the next degree, and eventually we seek to climb some sort of ladder in our professional lives. From this develops the subconscious perception that our lives are a graphed line that lead to somewhere…but where?

It’s true, there are certain things that will advance in life in a seemingly straight line with a known end. Our age, for example, is something that will continue to move us forward and change us along the way, and we all know what “the end” is. But there are several things in life that deviate from this otherwise organized path. Unexpected births, tragic deaths, devastating failures, surprising successes- all create those peaks and divots on our lifeline, and it seems that, metaphorically speaking, we want our lifeline to have those peaks and divots. For everybody knows what a flat line represents, no bueno.

So, how do we ensure that we continue to move forward, to grow, to transform, to accept the peaks and divots and not allow them to create a flat line? Aside from professional success or satisfying your societal role by creating a family, how do we get to where we really want to go in our own personal world? And how do we know when we have arrived?

In my opinion, there are two things at play here. First, we have to recognize ourselves as someone and something entirely independent of anything else. Because before we are mothers, fathers, spouses, friends, entrepreneurs, bosses, subordinates, athletes, dancers, artists, etc., we are just us. You are just you before you are anything else. Secondly, we have to accept that the way we treat ourselves and the expectations we hold of ourselves reflect and project onto everyone we come into contact with and everything we do. So, to create the best life, you have to create the best you.

I share this with you to further explain what Team TATE is all about. We are transforming our lives, and we are Together Achieving [that] Transformation Everyday. So, what is your transformation? What will make you the best you?

This is different for everyone. For me, it’s learning to love myself, to take care of myself, and to continuously commit to a happy and free life. My transformation is defined by becoming more active, eating healthier, letting go of physical and emotional weight, becoming more open, more accepting, forgiving, and using vulnerability as a tool to finally allow myself and others to see the real me. For you, maybe it’s similar. Maybe you’re also tired of being trapped. Maybe you also want to get healthier and feel happier, and maybe that means losing weight. Or, maybe it’s about your blood pressure, your cholesterol, or any other health condition. Maybe you just want to feel sexier. It’s even possible that your transformation has nothing to do with anything physical, but more the desire to be a better spouse, parent, or friend. Perhaps it’s more about letting go of negative relationship you’ve unrealistically relied on for too long. Regardless of how each of us defines our transformation, I expect there’s an underlying common thread; that is we all want/need to have higher expectations of ourselves and the result is a life where we meet those expectations every single day.

The point here is that I don’t think transformation has an “end.” I think it begins the moment you make the decision to have higher expectations- to be the best you- and, it continues every time we commit to achieving those expectations. Thus, we can actually be our transformations everyday. Team TATE is about satisfying our natural compulsion to get somewhere by achieving our transformations everyday. Let every decision you make be one that falls in line with the best you. Treat yourself as the the best you deserves to be treated. Treat others as the way the best you would treat others. Work as hard, love as strongly, have as much fun, live as freely as the best you can. It may take some time to see the physical body you want, or get the health results you want, or feel reciprocation from others, but you can be the best you today in so many ways. Don’t sell yourself short by waiting.