Let's talk about perfectionism and comparisons... Part 1 of 3
Part 1 in a 3 part series about the lies we tell ourselves and how to replace them with God's truth.
With excerpts from Holley Gerth's book: You're Already Amazing.
5 Lies That Make It Hard to Believe We're Amazing
(from You're Already Amazing by Holley Gerth)
1. I have to be perfect.
2. I need to be more like her.
Lie #1: I have to be perfect.
This one is super familiar to me. The tendency to have unbelievably high expectations of myself and follow "rules" that have been set by society, others that have gone before me, or even myself.
I like how confidence coach Trish Blackwell describes herself as a "recovering perfectionist." It isn't something that we just magically get over is it? If a perfectionist tendency is found in you, it can be a regularly occurring struggle.
May I make a mind-shift suggestion to you?
Let's think of growth as the goal, rather than perfection.
Take a look at the diagram. I've been thinking about this image for a while now. You start your personal growth journey at the center of the spiral and continue growing outward. Those times when you think you're repeating past mistakes or working on issues that you've already resolved? As you continue to grow, you're going to keep running into them because you're growing. You're just reaching them on a new level.
Rejoice in the revisit of personal development. It's an opportunity for continued growth!
Lie #2: I need to be more like her or him.
The body of Christ is not made up of one part but of many. God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
1 Corinthians 12: 14,18-20
Does this scripture speak right to your heart like it does to mine? God created me to fulfill a specific purpose; one that is different from every other person within the body of Christ. If I'm just like someone else, then I'm not fulfilling what God has called ME to do!
We are to COMPLETE not COMPETE. One little letter makes a BIG difference. LOL