I asked myself today, ‘Who do you really, truly, honestly want to be?’ Then I made a list, but it was more of a list of what I wanted to be, not who.

‘I want to be an author,’ I said. ‘A recording artist, a songwriter who can sustain herself.’ But those are all occupations; a way of surviving financially in this world (even if they are considered ‘whimsical’ positions by many people). The real question I should ask myself is, ‘Who do I want to be inside?’

So I made a new list. ‘I want to be encouraging,’ I said. ‘Someone who keeps moving forward and finding the good in everything and everyone; someone who can be inspired, and inspire in turn.’

I want to be someone who encourages minds and souls, lets them know they are not alone, and takes the dark and makes it beautiful. I want to love instead of hating; create, and not destroy. I want to make brokenness beautiful.

Instead of wishing to be a certain way, try every day to be a little better than the person you were yesterday. Don’t wait for it to come to you, because it won’t. You have to become it.

Tell me, who do you want to be?

...you're better than me.

Life is not a competition.

Don't think about how good you have to be, or who you have to be better than. You don't

have

to do or be anything. Think

back to when you first got into something that you love to do.

Why

did you want to do it in the first place? Because it brought you joy? you felt purpose by doing that certain activity? Yet once you've gone a certain distance, it isn't so fun anymore.

When did life stop being fun?

So tell me, who decides what we do well and what we should or should not do? Is it the judges, or the critics? Is it shame? Parents? A huge component that we often forget is that

all those who judge us are biased

—

that's what judging means. It's their OPINION, not hard, cold fact.

We judge people all the time

—

based on how they act, what they wear, who they hang out with. Critics and bosses do the same thing but their opinions are typed out, made public, and declared 'official'. They compare us to someone who is better than us. That's the problem most of us run into at some point

—

we compare ourselves to others, too

. The slap in the face of truth is that there will always be someone 'better'. Is this going to make you feel confident? Is it going to help you in any positive way? NO!!

You need to compare yourself... to yourself. How have you improved? What can you do better now that was hard before? Looking ahead is good, but glancing back at where you've been can boost your self-esteem.

Feeling sorry for yourself is NOT going to solve anything; it'll make

everything

worse.

When you're in a negative mood, everything feels harder, takes longer, and you won't improve as quickly

—

you won't enjoy what you do anymore if you don't have purpose. How are you going to get anywhere in life if you never have fun sometimes?

Keep trying, and never give up. You need to do things for yourself— not the trophy, not the job; not the satisfaction of being 'better' than someone else— but for the simple reason of loving what you're doing and enjoying it all.

today is day one

...you're better than me.