Best Self:The Grad Gift You Should be Asking For

By Lorena Roberts on May 1, 2019

As finals week commences around the nation, college students are cramming in all the study time they can get. Graduation is right around the corner, and students want to make sure they finish our their academic careers on top. If you’re getting ready to walk the stage, you’re probably also planning graduation parties, brunches with your family, and you’re probably even looking forward to all the great gifts you’re about to receive in recognition of your latest accomplishment. As a new college graduate, Best Self is the gift you should be asking for according to a recent press release.

Author Mike Bayer began his career as a mental health and addiction counselor, receiving his Bachelor’s degree in Alcohol and Drug Counseling from Metropolitan State University in Minnesota. After becoming a certified alcohol and drug abuse counselor as well as a board-registered interventionist, Mike became one of the leading interventionists in the country. His crisis consulting eventually led him to founding CAST Centers, a treatment center providing a network of professional support (doctors, psychologists, counselors, and instructors) in order to help clients improve their mental health and overall well-being. But now, Mike Bayer has become a life coach — and not just any regular life coach at that.

Mike published his first book, Best Self, in January, encouraging readers to become their own life coach. It’s not your typical self-help book — instead, Mike says the book “only works if you work it, so work it; you’re worth it!”

The book is full of quizzes, questionnaires, and creative drawing exercises, providing readers with problem-solving strategies to examine where they’re at in their life right now and where they want to be and go in the future. This all begins with Mike’s suggestion to articulate their best and anti-selves directly on the pages of the book.

Your “anti-self” is triggered by negative situations and emotions, such as fear and anxiety. This is important for us to identify, and begins our journey towards making sure we spend as little time as possible in this role. Mike says this is easier for us to identify, and individuals are often shocked by their results. Mike argues that beginning the book with this exercise, the next time a person is faced with a situation that would usually bring the Anti-Self to the surface, the goal is to let the Best Self character handle it instead. Though this is a conscious decision that has to be made the first few times, over time, this decision will become automatic. The Anti-Self runs contrary to the Best Self, and the first step in taking their power away is to recognize they exist.

After readers have identified their anti and best self characters, readers are led through the seven spheres of life:

  • Social 
  • Personal
  • Health
  • Education
  • Relationships
  • Employment
  • Spiritual Development 
In each of these phases, Mike shows readers how to prioritize aspects that can help them become their best self.  As you look forward to graduation and the life that’s ahead of you, start out on the right page. Ask your supporters to snag you a copy of Mike Bayer’s Best Self and get started on the right track in life.

“When you read Best Self, you’ll understand that Coach Mike’s formula puts the power of change in the hands of the individual. He encourages people to dig deep and ask themselves basic but important questions like—What do you really want? What are you afraid of? Who is holding you back? He challenges people to strive to live authentically. This book is a must-read for anyone who wants to thrive in all areas of life.”

 Jennifer Lopez

 “Coach Mike is a true professional and Best Self is his bible, his ‘how to’ manual on maximizing your potential by discovering the best person you can be in the most effective way you can. Mike Bayer is not a buzz word dispenser. He is a common sense, action-oriented coach that will tell you how to get from where you are to where you want to be in every area of your life, whether it be personal, family, professional, spiritual or all of the above.”

 Dr. Phil McGraw

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