One of my esteemed Facebook friends (that I've never met), the amazing author and creative spirit Kevin Sessums, admitted in a recent post a rather negative mindset that keeps knocking on his heart from time to time: compare and despair. Even as he is mega-accomplished — a truly special person — that old voice keeps creeping in, he confessed, noting as an author, it's hard not to compare your own success to others.
A big lesson here for us all, especially when times are hard and it seems that everyone is doing well — and hey, you're just not.
I am reminded of some advice a colleague once gave when I'd lost a job and was yes, despairing. "Nothing stays the same. Things change. You will always have highs and lows. And what distinguishes you from others is the way you handle them. Be strong, have dignity, stay positive — and things will improve. Maybe not on your timeline. But they will."
I think that is profound wisdom. And I also think there is a faith prospect layered in there, too. We must open our hearts to possibilities, projecting our ideas into the world and creating our intentions that they will indeed happen. And having steadfast faith that they will. In time. As the Bible verse says, loosely translated: Let your faith be stronger than your fears.
Because why? Because incredible could be right around the corner.
Another pearl in this line of discussion: We should only compare ourselves to ourselves. Not our girlfriends, our neighbors, people we meet in business and whose live we might covet. Rather we should ask: Are we a better, stronger, more invested version than WE were before? Not… are we as successful as X friend or Y colleague? Because we don't know their journey — and we can't see ours ahead. One day, we will be on top of that mountain. Until then, we must continue to climb, knowing that no one can move us off our goals.
Deepak Chopra encouraged individuality and our own embrace of just how special we all are.
We'd be mindful to consider that indeed, each of us has our own gifts. He wrote: "You have a talent that is unique in its expression, so unique that there's no one else alive on this planet that has that talent, or that expression of that talent."
I believe that this is so. Too many times I may have mentally written someone off, only to later discover that "wow," that person is amazing — only I just didn't know it at first. How dazzling it is to finally come into THEIR light.
So… what is uniquely you? What do you know about yourself that's good and special? C'mon. Deep down, in your heart, you KNOW there are things that you like about yourself. And you should start celebrating those gifts more.
Get back out there. Have a little faith. Be Brilliant.
#Brilliant365
