Comparison is a Thief
Lately, I’ve been finding, following, and admiring young women who are walking in their purpose either on social media or through their websites and YouTube channels. Not only do I find their social media, but I make it a point to scroll through their lives in order to act as an investigator in search of their ‘lightbulb moment.’
In my head, for some reason, I felt as though successful women need to have a 'lightbulb moment' before they blow up, gain lots of followers or simply FIND their purpose. The 'lightbulb' being the moment they suddenly 'found the light' and learned how to instantly become who they are today, which, as you can imagine, is unfair for the person that worked in unknown ways to become who they are.
I will admit, there were days when I searched for their story in between each post and attempted to piece together puzzles that I had no business obsessing over. The fact that they are successful and I was ON MY WAY towards success fed into the desire my flesh had to follow in their footsteps in order to be where they are—constantly COMPARING myself to their CURRENT SELF without the knowledge that they, too, had to grow into who they are currently.
Don’t deny a successful person their past hardships. Their current self is a result of unseen struggle. Share on X
It's dangerous for ambitious people to see someone they admire and immediately assume that they are JUST either lucky, blessed, or ‘set apart.’ In all honesty, many successful people we look up to are in fact lucky, blessed and quite possibly set apart—but this doesn’t represent their whole self including who they WERE, which in many cases is the reason for who they ARE.
There are times when we forget to acknowledge and give credit to that persons' past, completely missing the long nights and early mornings that went into their business or career. We weren’t the ones rubbing their back as they cried, or the ones witnessing the lack of support when they were at their lowest—wondering if their hard work would ever pay off. Not being there to see the rise, fall and plateau only ruin our perception of true accomplishment and those that find it before we have a chance to.
I, personally, am finding ways to admire the whole self of each young woman or man that I see has reached a level of success that I am reaching for. Not only do I choose to look deeper into their journey without expecting some sort of ‘lightbulb moment’ to explain their rise to the ‘top’ per say, but I also discipline my mind to understand the importance of being content with my portion rather than allowing other people's seasons to stir up jealousy within me.
There will be plenty of moments where you may find yourself wondering when ‘your time’ is coming or simply where you need to be to meet your achievements halfway. The best advice I can give is to pray for every thought, desire, and frustration you may have about your future and what it holds, both successes and failures.
Our journey is ours to experience but NOT ours to control. Release the control, doubt and fear you have and work each day to set up a desirable future with intentions to also allow Christ the chance to lead you where you’re meant to be. Being afraid of failing with a mental wall built for protection ‘just in case’ only leads you to failure. Being afraid of NOT failing with an open mind and willing heart is the sure-fire route to a fulfilling future.
The next time you see someone that you wish could hand you a bit of what they have, remember that they arrived into their current season rather than being placed in it.
The past of someone who is now successful and smiling could have very well been struggles and tears. Share on X
You will arrive where you NEED to be soon enough, relax and know that there are PLANS for our lives already set in stone. God wants to see you be great!
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Love you all and
Live Intentionally,
