The Best Self Blueprint

Before my next meeting, sales pitch, dinner with my family, or the next email I’m about to send, I’ve started asking myself a question.

Who’s showing up?

We’ve all heard of the concept of our “best selves,” but there aren’t a lot of tools to turn that concept into a tangible reality. One that I’ve found useful lately is the idea of a “Best Self Blueprint.”

Psychology tells us we’re the sum of our experiences. There’s truth to that, but it also implies our identities have been built by accident, shaped by whatever life has thrown at us. If the default version of us is whoever those experiences made, the Best Self Blueprint is a chance to intentionally handcraft an elevated version of who we are.

The idea is to write down the characteristics, drivers, and obstacles that define and protect your best self. Then give that self a name. Now that you have a blueprint and a name, you can choose to show up that way on demand.

Here’s a template that may work for you:

1. Characteristics. Who am I at my best?

• What traits define me when I’m at my best?
• When have I been at my absolute best, and what was I bringing to the moment?
• What gifts come naturally to me?
• How do people experience me when I’m fully on?

2. Drivers. What pulls me forward?

• What core values move me when I’m at my best?
• What kind of work, environments, and people make me sharper?
• What drains my energy or scatters my focus?
• When do I feel most alive and in my element?

3. Obstacles. What gets in my way?

• What recurring patterns pull me off track?
• What fears most often influence my decisions?
• Where am I still trying to prove something instead of just doing the work?
• What stories do I tell myself that aren’t true or useful?

4. Activation. How do I show up as this version on demand?

• What’s a one-sentence description of who I’m here to be?
• What three daily behaviors would this version of me consistently practice?
• What name captures this version of me?
• What’s the cue I use to step into it?

You don’t have to tell anyone the name for your best self. I gave myself one based on the qualities I aspire to embody. Before moments that matter, I use the name as a reminder to tap into a higher version of me. Will I show up as the default neurotic Josh? Or will I show up as the name I gave my best self?

The blueprint isn’t a one-and-done. You revisit it, refine it, and use it often.

Like any practice, the more you use it, the more useful it gets. Stick with it for a while, and the gap between your default self and your best self gets smaller every week.