Walk Your Path In Four Steps

“Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don’t be impressed with yourself. Don’t compare yourself with others…” Galatians 6:4-5 MSG

I can’t count the number of times I got depressed because I felt slow and left behind. A few years ago, all you’d see on LinkedIn were success stories and accomplishments. It was the perfect platform for comparison and many times, the melancholy side of me would happily jump out to play.

Now, although the platform is a lot balanced because people are now more willing to share their failures and vulnerabilities, you can’t help but marvel and the great things people are doing.

I used to scroll through feeds, check websites, view portfolios and wonder what I did with my life. Eventually, I went off everything that caused me to compare myself with others and just focused on my path. With time, I realized that everyone has a unique path and different speeds. It doesn’t mean we won’t end up at similar destinations, but the trajectory is just different.

Comparison is a thief when not used correctly. It steals your joy, sense of worth, gratitude and eventually if you allow it, your future. You won’t know when you’ve spent an entire year feeling like others are better than you.

But that’s not what God wants for us. Our focus scripture gives us the perfect weapon to fight this foe. It’s not enough to just say, “I won’t compare myself with anyone”. You have to take four steps:

1. Understand who you are
2. Understand the work you’re to do
3. Acutely focus on who you are and the work you’ve been given to do.
4. Celebrate but don’t dwell on the little successes because there’s more to come.

Now that everything is so connected and you can see the daily life of someone else across the globe, it can be hard to double down on your mission without feeling like you’re falling short. In that case, it means we need to learn how to use the successes of others to fuel our focus.

The scripture never said we shouldn’t look at what others are doing, just don’t compare. Use what you see around you as inspiration and not a source of degradation.

You have your path to walk and I have mine. If I can’t use your path as a source of inspiration for my life, then it’s in my best interest to avoid viewing your profile until I learn how to replace those negative thoughts.