Nathan Peterson

Stop Trying to Put Your Best Foot Forward

Stop trying to put your best foot forward—just put your foot forward. That’s success.

Putting your best foot forward means others will be impressed. But where does that lead? Ultimately, it puts you into competition.

When being impressive equals success, you choose this narrative for your life: “In order to be safe, I need to be better than others... better than I am.”

This narrative doesn’t help you, it hurts you. It also hurts others.

When “I need to be better” is what you say to yourself, you lead others to say the same to themselves.

“I need to be better” is not what we need to hear right now.

When this is the narrative, everyone loses.

“I need to be better.”

Just put your foot forward. Not your “best” foot. Not someone else’s foot. Your foot.

If this is success, you can’t lose.

You’re free. To be where you are—ever changing, always growing, sometimes high and sometimes low. It doesn’t matter—whatever foot is yours, you put that forward.

You offer yourself as you are, nothing more and nothing less.

Let this be your definition of success.

This is sustainable.

Every step you take in this way gives you energy. It means that you’re always enough. And so is everyone else.

Think how this can change your life, and our world.

No competition. No judgement. Everyone wins.

This is the kind of world I want to live in—the kind of world I want my kids to grow up in.

It starts right now, with your very next step...

You don’t need to be impressive. You’re already safe, already loved.

Just put your foot forward. Nothing more, nothing less. That’s success.