In the busy-ness of life, our joy is too often the first thing to go. “Recapturing Joy” is a series about holding on to joy before it disappears – and getting it back if it’s already gone!
It’s so easy to feel inadequate, isn’t it?
Whether it’s at work, at home, in parenting, in marriage, in friendships, or in other activities all of us have those tender spots that make us feel ashamed, feel like a failure, and make us want to shrink back within ourselves to find relief from the pain.
Why are these things so painful?
Because we strive for excellence, and these are reminders that we have fallen short.
In those difficult moments we forget that it’s just a simple reflection of our skill (or lack thereof) in a certain area and instead choose to clothe ourselves in the identity of failure.
We also have areas where we have already achieved excellence. But we fail to acknowledge those areas because we don’t want to be seen as bragging or we minimize them as meaningless in comparison to our areas of failure.
Let’s stop that. It’s not healthy, it’s not productive, and frankly, it’s not true.
Instead, let’s own our areas of excellence. Without minimizing them, apologizing for lacking humility, or being embarrassed about our gifts let’s remind ourselves that our excellence is a much more significant part of our identity.
Let’s start right now. Identify one specific area of your life that you can say you do well. Tell us about it without shrinking back, minimizing your gift, or apologizing for it. Own it.
I’ll go first.
I know I do a good job of feeding my family. In this area of my life I am organized, creative, and competent.
Now it’s your turn. Let’s get this conversation started!
What do you do well?
