Hey Warrior!

What are you measuring yourself against? I'm serious, I really want you to think about that question. Are you looking at the talents and accomplishments of others? If so, chances are you are negating your own. Are you comparing your own reality to someone else's? If so, chances are you're painting a pretty dark picture of yours. We've all heard people say things like "You're comparing yourself to the highlight reels that people post on social media." but do we dismiss the fact that we may actually be doing that?

If any of this is true for us, we are believing and buying into a lie. The lie that tells you that you are never going to be enough. That lie also tells us that if we accomplish this thing or that thing, then that will make me enough.

It's impossible to sit here and peck at a keyboard and try to come up with some cool words to try to convince you that you are enough. It is truly something that we have to experience. And what we need to experience is the reality that there is no competition to be had. Even though you may live in a culture that demands progression and accomplishment, all in a way that pits you against your fellow Warriors, guess what, no amount of anything that comes from that will satisfy the craving to be enough.

Where does this come from then? What is the truth that silences the lie? Here it is. Comparison robs you of both joy and purpose. YOU, wherever you may be in whatever season you may be in, have a purpose for that. Quick example: At the time of this writing, I'm 38 years old and have a 14 month old baby girl. She's amazing!! However, for the first ten years of our marriage, we faced the reality that having kids was not possible for us...solidified by miscarriage after miscarriage. I looked at other couples. We watched our friends have babies. The struggle was (and is) very real. I saw time click off the clock year after year. And every friend who had a baby seemed to push us further into a dark place, even though we were VERY happy for our friends. We bought into the lie that something was wrong with us and we we're not enough. Now, what is the purpose in that? Well, while I was so busy looking at others, I missed the fact that just as many people around me were in the same boat we were in. When I started to see that I actually had tools that could help them, I began to realize that I was missing opportunity after opportunity because I was comparing our reality to other peoples reality, and those realities we're in no way comparable.

You and me both have our own journey, and when we try to measure up against someone else, even if its for something so pure as a child, we neglect and ignore our journey. What you don't know is what happens behind the scenes in the life of the people youre comparing to. Their seemingly grand existence is probably marred with tragedy and turmoil along the way...and while we may want what it seems they are getting, we may not want how they got it.

So, today, ask yourself this: Am I measuring myself up against others. And, if so, how can I stop? And what can I now DO to help me realize that there is, in fact, no competition. And being enough is just some made-up, unattainable, constantly moving blurry target that does not even exist in reality. Truth is, you just being you, is enough. And the ones that love you are robbed of you when you buy into the lie that you are not enough.

JOURNAL: Hit the "Take a Note" button on this page and write out your thoughts and use these questions as a guide.

+ What do I feel after reading this?
+ What can I do about it?