Defining Success

I feel like I've been discussing this a lot with different people, possibly maybe mostly just Tiana ... and in my head, but it's been an important subject to think about: Not letting other people's definition of success define yours... or you. 

background image via Kai & Sunny

I think it's easy to find ourselves saying oh my goodness, they just got featured or landed x client or whatever it may be. Looking at a zillion different people and their successes and forget about the big or small ones we make everyday. I personally, don't know what it is I want to do for the rest of my life. And so when I get so caught up in all of the awesome things others are doing I start to look at myself like a dumbdumb because though that might be what the world or industry defines as success (and would be awesome to add to my list of achievements) it's not MY definition of success. It's not what's going to leave a huge smile on my face as I lay my head down at night. What excites me is when I make a new friend who clicks, when I get to share Jesus with others and they're excited about it, when I do something out of my comfort zone and it feels rewarding, when I have something really delicious in front of my face and the first bite makes me melt into a puddle of happiness. Those things that keep my head spinning when I know I should be long asleep. Apparently these are the things I value and the things should seek to fill my life with.

As Meg Conley put it, "color OUTSIDE the pinterest sized boxes & fill up the storyboard of your life!" There's so much more in this world that what you've already seen done and created. HEAVEN is the limit, and with the big G-O-D, anything is possible, so what lies have you been believing about your life? You don't have to like Beyonce, or gold accessories, or need to be good at calligraphy, or be addicted to coffee! OR YOU CAN BE! If you you dig it! We are all different for a reason. This is a blessing to be able to push each other forward, to collaborate, to stretch and grow each other. You don't have to be the next big thing in order to create something new and different and inspiring to others. And you certainly don't need anyone else's approval to be awesome or for someone to tell you that you're doing a good job to know it. YOU KNOW IT. You're doing your best and you're so freakishly awesome. Like if someone could see the potential inside of you they'd probably pass out from sheer excitement. Haha or at least that's how God looks at you - with adoring eyes, so I know it's true. What I'm constantly reminded is that instead of striving to achieve things I'm not so sure I care about or striving to impress others, I should be striving to love and honor God with my whole heart. I share these things not because I'm great at them but because I constantly, constantly need to be reminded of them. In Him, joy and purpose are found. If you feel inspired or moved by this, it's not because of me but because of something He is igniting within you! It's amazing. If we constantly seek to please man, we'll just end up lost and displeased with ourselves. But God is a neverending source of everything we need in every moment of life - in the silence and in the chaos. My little told me the other day I should practice what I preach and she's right. I wholeheartedly agree. So hopefully here's a shift towards seeking first to love God and love people wholeheartedly, pursuing the passions He's given me specifically - not anyone else's, and allowing myself to fall more and more in love with the life I've been fortunate enough to receive.