Be Your Best Self...

or as Oprah says, "Lead your best life" Although these aren't exactly the same thing - or are they?

Pickup artists teach men not to just "be yourself", but to "be your best self" in order to pick up women.

Does motivation matter?

Sometimes I think any motivation is good motivation, especially when I'm feeling very unmotivated. But, the best motivation - the most useful - comes from deep down. That sounds so cheesy, but it is true for me.

I have a job interview today that I don't think I'll be very good at. Like, during the interview I'm going to be orally tested on circuits which I don't feel brushed up at. Would my best self do this? Probably not. I don't need to - I'm already committed to accepting a different job offer. I may be wasting my time and theirs.

On the other hand:

If I were my best self I would feel more comfortable with circuits, because a) I just worked as an electrical engineer for the past 19 months, and b) I am an electrical engineer by training.

But I'm not. I was doing specific things at my last job, and my general knowledge is not really there. I did graduate from the EE program in 2005 - that's 6 years ago.

Also, if I was my best self I would not cancel on people last minute.

Most importantly, if I was my best self I would not be so afraid of failure or of appearing stupid. It is actually completely reasonable that I don't remember general EE fundamentals. It's not great, it's not over-achieving, but it's reasonable.

It is 10 til 8 and the interview is at 10. I'll feel better after I eat a good breakfast...