What’s the best version of yourself? I’m not talking about the Louis Vuitton-wearing, G-wagon-driving, uber-successful solopreneur. That’s not the ideal version of yourself; it’s capitalism’s ideal version of you.

I’m talking about the do-good, difference-maker who’s living out their wildest dreams and spreading positivity and kindness along the way.

So, I ask again- what’s the best version of yourself? Have you visualized the version of yourself who has certain morals and lives life with high integrity? Have you imagined what your daily habits look like or dreamt about the things you could do to improve your mental and physical health?

The ideal version of yourself is all about your physical and mental lifestyle, your habits, and your Personal Best Practices.

As aware as you are of your authentic, current version you should be of your idealized, in-progress version.

Whereas your M.O., or modus operandi is how you tend to operate, your Ideal Mode of Operation (I.M.O.) is how you ideally operate, in a perfect world, under perfect conditions.

You know, the drinks-plenty-of-water-journals-before-bed-works-out-four-times-a-week-saves-more-than-spends-reads-fifty-books-every-year version of yourself. That’s your Ideal Mode of Operation.

My M.O. is emotionally reacting to my anxiety. My I.M.O. is using the tools I’ve learned in therapy to successfully navigate my anxiety instead of letting it control my emotions.

Your M.O. is who you are. Your I.M.O. is who you want to be. And all the things you do to bridge the gap between your reality and your ideals are where the magic is.

Here’s how you build your I.M.O. and how it leads to your dream life.

Understanding Your I.M.O.

Those who want to achieve their ideal state not only dream about what they want, but who they want to be.

As much as you think about that mansion with a backyard pool and theatre room, you must think about what types of habits you want, what morals you follow, and the person you want to be as a whole.

Someone who spends 3+ hours every day scrolling on TikTok or watching Netflix while ordering DoorDash every night after work isn’t getting that mansion.

But someone who prioritizes working out, eats clean, listens to educational podcasts, gets good sleep, and devotes time every day to their passion projects will.

So, what is your Ideal Mode of Operation?

Being aware of your current M.O. helps give you an idea of what your I.M.O. should be.

For example, my M.O. is working out every day. I’ve already established that as a routine, it’s ingrained into who I am as a person at this point. So, my I.M.O. can’t be working out every day, because I already do that!

Instead, my I.M.O. is adding cardio into three of my workouts because I do little to no cardio every week because I hate it…haha.

You also need to dream up what you want your I.M.O. to be. There are five categories you should analyze when understanding what you want your I.M.O. to be—

#1 Habits

What are your ideal habits? What would you want your daily habits to look like? How about your weekly or monthly habits?

#2 Routines

What is your ideal routine? What does your work-week routine versus your weekend routine look like? What about your vacation routine? How frequently do you stick to your routine? How do you incorporate spontaneity and family time?

#3 Morals and Values

What is the ideal type of person you want to be? What do you want your values and morals to be? What issues do you stand up and advocate for?

#4 Personality

What is your ideal attitude? How do you handle hardships? How do you navigate conflict? How do you want to lead others? Do you even want to lead others?

#5 Lifestyle

How do you want to spend your money? How do you want to contribute to your communities? What do you want to wear? How do you want others to perceive you? Where do you want to spend your time outside of work?

There is no way around it- you have to take the time and mental energy to intentionally think about your I.M.O. or you’ll sacrifice becoming your I.M.O.

But how do you even know what you want your I.M.O. to be? I’m glad you asked…

How to Develop Your I.M.O.

Your I.M.O. can and should be developed through multiple avenues. Here’s a list of ways you develop your I.M.O.-

#1 Media

You develop your I.M.O. when you consume media. Whether it’s reading books, listening to podcasts, or watching movies, seeing how other people live their lives inspires you to do the same (or different!).

#2 People in Your Life

The people in your life greatly impact your I.M.O. The friends you hang out with and the folks at your workplace deeply influence who you are and who you want to be.

By observing their behaviors and actions, you get a better idea of what you want to be like and even what you don’t want to be like.

#3 People Outside of Your Life

Having role models is huge. Wanting to be like someone is great and sets a foundation for certain principles, morals, and behaviors you want to emulate.

Cherry-picking traits you observe in those who have come before you to build the ideal version of yourself is a great tactic.

You don’t want to be exactly like someone else because, after all, you never truly know them. So, pick a few traits here and there from several people or notice the common themes among them.

Being aware of the impact people have had on your life (your parents, siblings, bullies in middle school) and how your past experiences have shaped you also contributes to what your I.M.O. should be.

All in all, there are several ways to develop your I.M.O., mainly through consumption, observation, and reflection.

From I.M.O. to M.O.

What was once your I.M.O. has the ability to become your M.O., and that’s the end goal.

It’s a cyclical process. You first understand what your current M.O. is. You then visualize and brainstorm what you want your I.M.O. to be. Finally, you start working towards making your I.M.O. so ingrained into your life that it becomes your M.O.

I didn’t always work out at the gym. In fact, my M.O. in college was avoiding the gym like the plague. But my I.M.O. back then was working out every day, so I started to take the steps to achieve that. Now, two years later, my M.O. is working out every day, and my I.M.O. has evolved into something bigger, something better.

It takes a deep understanding of your I.M.O., in combination with hard work and time, to make your idealized version of self a reality.

Real Talk

Beyond idealizing our perfect life, our focus should be on idealizing the perfect version of ourselves, because that’s what’ll help us achieve our perfect life.

The bottom line is that you can’t achieve your dreams if you don’t have the skills, habits, routines, personality, and hustle to do so.

Get all those things in line and watch your dream life unfold before your eyes.