Confidence. Its something we all struggle with. Whether its physical appearance, social status, finances, whatever, its easy to find ourselves playing the comparison game. In my journey to becoming a more joyful version of myself, I have found that confidence plays a significant role. If you're not secure in who you are there is no reason to assume joy will come from having a negative image of yourself. If you're not accepting of who you are, how can anyone else be? I know it sounds cliché, but I have found most cliché sayings to be true. If you're not happy with who you are make an effort to rearrange certain aspects of your life to become the person you've always wanted to be. Whats stopping you? Fear? This is the factor that holds me back the most. The fear of being judged, or not being good enough. For many years I struggled with this concept. For me, physical appearance held me back. I had horrible acne and believe it or not, it kept me from starting a blog earlier as well as kept me from being myself most of the time. My skin condition was constantly on my mind when I'm sure nobody else even noticed a problem. Looking back, I wish I wouldn't have let this hold me back, but I love seeing how much I've grown since those days. My first year in college has been a time of putting these thoughts behind me. Being on my own has allowed me more time for self discovery, and I now wander why I spent years feeling insecure about silly things. I've learned to embrace the quirky things about myself. My style, interests, taste in music, you name it. This year has allowed me to recognize what truly brings me joy. You and I are uniquely created, why shouldn't we embrace our differences? Its a beautiful thing I tell you.
Now, by no means am I claiming I have no insecurities, I do. This is something that is a work in progress. Fighting the urge to throw a pity party for myself can sometimes be a struggle, but I just have to remind myself that my confidence should be rooted in the promise that God has planned for my life, not worldly things. Joyce Meyer put it this way, "I believe confidence is all about being positive concerning what you can do- and not worrying over what you can't do". So if its in your control and you're seeking change, go for it! If its out of your control, don't sweat it, whatever issue is at hand is in the hands of your trustworthy Creator.
Why should our insecurities hold us back? Don't let them have power over you! You are more than the amount of likes your Instagram picture gets, the number of followers you have on twitter, the number between your feet on the scale. You are more than your GPA, IQ and age. Don't let numbers have power over you. Don't allow yourself to play the comparison game. I love Ingrid Nilsen's insight on this, in so may words she said to remove yourself from this game of numbers and once you do, you'll feel a sense of freedom to be yourself more so than ever before.
So, my friends, I invite you to join me on this journey to becoming more confident. Thank you so much for reading! I'd love to hear from you- leave a comment with your thoughts on this subject below or to suggest next weeks topic. Talk to you in my next post!
xx Mariah
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