In today’s world, we are bombarded on all sides by the pressure to be more, do more, have more, experience more, produce more, feel more, accept more, undergo more, incorporate more and the list goes on. Most of us feel that in order to be accepted and to fit in we must follow the leader, which most times is following a family, friend or even stranger that has an endless list of achievements that are completely overwhelming. But doesn’t that person look all tidy on the outside? They sure do.
Yet, the inside is total havoc. Oh… if we could only see the twisted knots and festering sores that “keeping up with the Joneses” has created in these lives. If we could look into their future and see what this goal driven life leaves them in the end, then we would understand that the Jones’ family are really not worth keeping up with.
Life should be more about finding our own worth, not comparing our worth to the achievements of others. Who is to say that extreme wealth is total happiness. Who is to say that outrageous fame is the pinnacle of success. We each have our own measuring stick! But I will say this–if you are not using your measuring stick to create YOUR life of success, you will never be happy with your life.
Some may disagree with me but I truly believe that we all have God-given gifts and talents!! Untapped talent and unused gifts can be pushed down over and over again. Until we let them out we will not be completely happy. We will not feel fulfilled.
Brene’ Brown shares this in her book, “The Gifts of Imperfection“.
We all have gifts and talents. When we cultivate those gifts and share them with the world, we create a sense of meaning and purpose in our lives.
Squandering our gifts brings distress to our lives. As it turns out, it’s not merely “too bad” if we don’t use the gifts that we’ve been given; we pay for it with our emotional and physical well-being. When we don’t use our talents to cultivate meaningful work, we struggle. We feel disconnected and weighed down by feelings of emptiness, frustration, resentment, shame, disappointment, fear, and even grief.
Most of us who are searching for spiritual connection spend too much time looking up at the sky and wondering why God lives so far away. God lives within us, not above us. Sharing our gifts and talents with the world is the most powerful source of connection with God.
Does that hit home with you? It hits home with me! I KNOW I have gifts I am not using. But others I am using and that makes me feel like I am on the right path. And I am not a keep up with the Jones’ kind of person.
I love this quote from Brene’s book “Like our gifts and talents, meaning is unique to each of us”. Sooooo true.
I want to encourage you today to stop the negative self-talk in your head and begin to listen to your heart. The heart never lies. Work to overcome self-doubt. Think about what is holding you back and when you realize the answer DON’T ignore it, please!! Pray, listen, make a plan and follow through!
I would love to hear your opinion in the comments below. Let’s talk about this!!
Powerful stuff!
Such truth.