Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you’re always running around to fix every missing, broken or ruined thing in your life for the fear of being seen as a failure?
Have you ever felt you were not doing enough compared to others because of your constant comparison of standards with others who have gone far?
So I noticed that anytime I hear people talk about their experience with God, and how they prayed for 7 hours and fasted for 40 days, I immediately begin to feel inadequate in my spiritual life.
My little effort becomes nothing, and this gets me under condemnation if I am not careful. But I’ve learnt to appreciate my journey and desire to grow gradually.
Here are 3 traits you should watch out for if you want to experience true rest and peace.
1. VALIDATION:
If you continue to seek validation from people for what you do or what you intend to achieve, you will be disappointed by the numerous people who may ignore you when you’re starting out.
It’s even more painful when you respect these people. Learn how to be content with God’s acceptance of who you are. Learn to bask in the understanding of your identity. This can bring great peace into your life.
2. PERFECTIONISM:
This is one area that I didn’t observe on time. Have you found yourself being too critical of yourself and others? Or always feeling like a failure because you didn’t meet a certain standard?
Learn how to appreciate your journey and the progress you’re making rather than the major goal itself. If you focus on achieving a 100%, you may miss out on the lessons from the few adjustments and progress you are making along the way.
3. FULFILLMENT:
There’s nothing wrong with being fulfilled, but sometimes it can become a trap. Imagine chasing so many goals just to feel fulfilled? What about the other sources of joy in your life that you may be ignoring?
Learn to appreciate every aspect of your life till you get to the height you’re seeking for. Some people feel happy only when they achieve their all their goals, and tick off every item on their to-do list.
If you find yourself here, understand that you need to give yourself the permission to be happy even if all you could achieve for a day was to execute a task/goal excellently, possibly because of valid reasons.
In all, stop waiting for outside circumstances to align with the way you have imagined them to go in your head before you allow yourself experience rest and peace. True rest and peace comes from within you, and it’s the kind of peace that God gives.
Which of these traits are you guilty of?
Written by Coach Nike
