Focus on Your Design

“I want her hair

I wish I was that tall

He speaks so well

I want his job

I want her car

I want his house

She has the best clothes"

S.T.O.P.

The comments of comparisons both thought and said on a daily basis are endless. And the problem is folks, if looked at the wrong way, they can be toxic.

A couple years ago my husband “gave up” social media because quite frankly he isn’t all that interested in it and found that it wasn’t serving a purpose for him. In fact, in many cases it just had him sucked into comparing others' “highlight reel” to his daily life. And he’s not alone. It’s something I believe many of us get caught doing at times.

Now I didn’t take his lead and jump off my social media accounts; and I don’t intend to anytime soon. However I took inspiration from his approach and spent time recognizing when the comparison game starts coming into play in my life and evaluating why I feel that way. The process is quite eye opening and it’s something I encourage everyone to do.

The fact of the matter is, no matter what, we are all human and comparison naturally comes into play in our lives. But the way I see it, you can either let it drag you down, or you can let it serve you. Personally, I prefer the latter.

Let’s discuss, shall we?

I’ve always been a girl of deep Faith. It’s been instilled in me since day one. Yet one of the most obvious messages He teaches us didn’t seem to fully connect with me until most recently.

As simple as simple can be, the message is this; we are all uniquely created by God.

Put another way, every single one of us has unique talents, strengths and abilities that we were gifted to serve our purpose. For whatever reason however, it has become so common for people to lack the belief and understanding of this. We seek to be more like others instead of seeking to become better versions of ourselves. The reality is you create insecurities when you push to become something you’re not instead of simply owning and embracing who YOU are.

A couple weeks ago I attended a beautiful event focused on finding your soul's mission. One of the very first questions was to identify your Superpower. In other words, what is unique about you, what are your strengths, talents and passions. The question was so simple, but the answer wasn’t quite so. It was a fascinating exercise. One I encourage everyone to do.

The follow up question was to list things that you find irritating. As the list was created you had to evaluate each list and identify the lessons they are teaching you. The superpower list likely came up with a common theme that directed to a passion or a unique strength that you should be leveraging.

The common theme that came from the other list reflected something that you likely do yourself and wish you didn't do.

You’ve likely heard of a process similar to this and it could have been in a variety of different ways. Answering questions such as:

What’s your purpose?

What drives you?

Find your "Why"

What do you stand for?

The list goes on. But at the end of the day they are all getting at that same thing and encouraging you to Live by Your Design. Figure out what your unique design is and live it. It’s your Truth. And you should be living your truth daily.

So my request of you is this, when you find yourself comparing, take a moment to pause and take a step back. Think about what you are feeling and seek to understand why you are feeling that way. How can you change the perspective and simply be inspired by that person instead? It's okay to be inspired by their perspective and life, but you don't have to own it as what yours should be.

If you are inspired, make sure you compliment that person for living their truth. Let them know they inspired you in some way. Never hold back on giving genuine compliments. The world can use more of that beautiful energy daily.

Most importantly I ask you to find that unique spark within yourself and let your light shine. Embrace your superpower and we will all be better because of it.

God Bless.