Thought of the Week

Sometimes I find myself getting stuck on thinking of what my next project should be.  I have plenty of ideas, but trying to decide which one I should focus on is something that I have been struggling with lately.  I had an idea that I should do a "Thought of the Week" and I have decided that I needed to focus on this project because it is important, and hopefully you will find it worthwhile as well.

{Made by me.  Feel free to use, but please credit properly.}

I have been seeing a trend lately of women who compare themselves to others.  When I was in high school, I would look at other girls and think, "If only my body were that skinny." or "Ugh, my hair NEVER looks as good as hers does."  Of course, looking back now, I would give my left arm to be as skinny as I was then.  (Actually I would need to give my left and right arm, and possibly my leg to be able to weigh the same.) 

Now, as a mother, it is easy to get caught up in blogs and pinterest and thinking that people live charmed, easy lives.  I have had quite a few people ask, "How do you have time to do all your projects?"  The answer: My house suffers.  I am far from perfect, and I think it is safe to say that you could say the same for any blogger.  We are excellent at cropping and showing you exactly what we want you to see.  The reality is this.  I like having a tidy house, but I hate doing the deep cleaning.  I like to have clean clothes, but I hate doing laundry.  Ironing?  Forget it.  Granted they all eventually get done (well, except for ironing), but they are by no means a priority in my life.

Why do we do this to ourselves?  It's a simple question, but it definitely doesn't have one easy answer.  It is different for each person.  The fact is that we all compare to some degree, but what I wanted to say in all of this is that even though we compare ourselves, we shouldn't allow that to steal the joy from our lives.  Instead of seeing something that we wish we were better at, why not look instead to all of the things that we are GREAT at already?  There will always be someone who can do something better than you, but I can guarantee that you have something that you are really great at that they can't do.  We should focus on our strengths and use them to help build people up instead of using them to feel superior to someone else. 

Let's make a goal to encourage and build people up this week.  You could do it by a kind email to let someone know that you appreciate their work, a little treat on the doorstep of your neighbor, or even just a phone call to let someone know you were thinking of them.  Chances are that you aren't the only one that could use a little "pick me up" and the best part is that in the process of helping others, we end up feeling better about ourselves.  Try it out, and next week I will ask you about how it went.  I would love to hear about what you did!

Until next week!