You can’t always choose when you are at your best. Sometimes it is sprung upon you. Other times it comes when you are feeling at your worst.
One of the times that I was at my best came when I was just coming off of feeling very low. Last week I was feeling very stressed. Homesickness was really starting to set in and I had my first big test of the semester coming up. It was the perfect storm for feeling horrible but then last Wednesday something changed.
I was just checking my mail when one of the girls in my building asked me to teach her how to open her mailbox. Despite my own ill feelings I helped her out and it turned out to be an instance of me feeling at my best. I not only helped her but it also helped me to break out of my funk.
So you can’t always choose when you are at your best. It is often just thrust upon you. However, I find that I am frequently at my best when I get the chance to help someone else.