21 Days to a More Disciplined Life: Day 18 (Embrace Your Own Uniqueness)

Yesterday's exercise was to evaluate your goals and make sure they are based upon what is best for your family. Since my family right now consists only of my husband, myself, and our puppy, this one was a pretty easy one! The puppy automatically agreed that the goals would be fine for him (ha!), and I have an extremely easygoing husband who just wants me to be happy and accomplish my goals, so I know that they'll work for him to. Phew. It's good to have an easy exercise!

As you might have guessed from the title of today's chapter, it's about making sure that are happy with yourself. This is such a great reminder and great chapter that I'm going to share it in its entirety and pretend like copyright laws aren't really a thing. Hey, this is educational use, right? ;-P

Here it is:

"You can spend all of your life trying to measure up to someone else. You can fritter away hours of time wishing you had her hair or her figure or her energy or her gifts.

But you are not her. You are you.

You have unique gifts, talents, and abilities. You can improve upon what God has given you, you can wisely steward what He has given you, but you cannot change who He has created you to be.

So instead of living life wishing you were someone else, embrace your own uniqueness. Don't feel guilty if you can't get up when she gets up, or decorate your home like she decorates hers, or fit into the size of jeans she does, or juggle all the activities and responsibilities she does.

Your life and goals are going to look different from others--and that is completely okay.

In fact, if everyone was a carbon copy of each other, wouldn't life be dull and colorless?"

Good stuff!

Today's exercise is to ask yourself if you are doing the best you can with the energy, gifts, talents, and resources you have in the season of life that you are in. Paine says that if you are, you can move on without guilt, even if your life and goals look completely different from someone else's that you know.

Hope everyone stays warm and dry tonight! Brr!!