You CANE Do Anything // Faithfully Honest
Yesterday…
I woke up in all sorts of a funk. I felt so defeated based on a myriad of things. A zillion thoughts just zipping through my brain and it felt like I couldn’t control a lot of them. I’m chalking it all up to not feeling good enough because I didn’t accomplish a few things during my downtime over the last few days. I tend to place so much of my worth on productivity. Anyone else?
When chasing after a goal, I sometimes get so stuck on the idea of "What if I fail?" vs. "What if I succeed?"
I figured out as an adult now that when I was a child, I was taught to always place limits on myself based on other people's fear.
I couldn’t go outside and play or just be physically active because I had a parent that thought if I did, I would get an asthma attack, even though I never had one.
I couldn’t always go out with friends and have normal teen experiences because of fear I would be kidnapped and hurt if I wasn’t at home because of a parent’s fear of watching the news.
Academically or socially, if something was too difficult for me, even if it was something I should be doing at my age, I was taught by a parent to walk away from it without trying again.
It was frowned upon by a parent to get a job while I was attending school in fear I’d make my own income and be able to support myself.
The list goes on and on…
Growing out of that, I've had to unlearn the mindset of relying on someone else’s opinion to dictate my life. Making my own decisions is a part of being a person. But because decisions on typical real-world situations were always made for me, I feel like as an adult, I don’t always have the confidence to move forward and do things on my own. So in comes self-defeating thought 1…and look! He’s brought his friends, self-defeating thought 2 and 3…what a party!
Although now as an adult, I embrace a challenge so I can learn, I also struggle with feeling super anxious about it. But what I’ve realized is that in the moments of trial and effort, I've learned the most about myself as a person. It’s exhilarating to see how far I can really go and it’s made me see myself in a new way!
So, back to what I was feeling yesterday…
I didn’t do what I needed to do to prepare for this week. So instead of talking myself through it all, I let the self-defeat take over.
I realized in the end though, I was holding myself back. My thoughts about myself spiral out of control, but the Lord has given me dominion over my mind and reminds me who I am.
Philippians 3:14 states, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
This verse gives me peace, hope, and reminds me that I am never alone.
I struggle with self-defeat, but it doesn’t mean I am a victim. God’s strength fills me up and reminds me of my abilities to overcome anything when he is with me.
I may regress in accomplishing things, but it doesn’t mean I am a failure. It just means I try again and give it my best shot!
Are you letting the doubts and fear of others push you down?
Or are you letting your own fear and doubt do the talking for you?
Whatever it is, if you’re struggling with self-defeat and accomplishing goals in this season, remember that your abilities and your God-given strength are bigger and mightier than whatever lays ahead for you!
You really CANE do anything you set your mind to. 😉(Get it, cause there’s candy canes in my picture above?)
Sending you love and prayers this week!
XO