Relax, Reflect, Recharge

When You Feel You’re Not Enough


Thank you Sharon Jaynes for today’s message……

“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me” (2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV).

When I was six years old, I skipped off to school with a new box of crayons, a Swiss-polka-dotted dress, and fresh hope that I would be smart. But first grade only confirmed my greatest fear. I was “not enough.”

As soon as my first-grade teacher held up that initial spelling flashcard, I knew I was in trouble. We lined up our miniature wooden chairs in a row like a choo-choo train. The teacher held up a spelling flashcard for us to identify the word. If we missed the word, we had to go to the caboose. I spent most of the first grade in the caboose. I just couldn’t spell to save my life. For some reason, I especially had trouble with the word the.

I’ll help her, my teacher must have thought. She made me a nametag that read

t-h-e, and I had to wear it for two weeks. Students came up to me and asked, “Why are you wearing that tag?” “Is your name ‘The’?” “You must be stupid.” “What’s wrong with you?”

Well, I learned how to spell the word the, but that’s not all I learned. I learned I wasn’t as smart as everybody else, and once again, not enough. And even though I ended up doing well in school, many times I’ve still felt like that little girl in the caboose of the spelling train.

Moses was a man who felt he wasn’t good enough. When God spoke to him through a burning bush and called him to lead His people out of Egyptian bondage, he had a big case of the “not good enoughs.”

That’s when he had a one-sided argument with God. Moses told God he was the wrong man for the job. He wasn’t brave enough, strong enough, smart enough, eloquent enough, charismatic enough, or confident enough.

At one point, Moses said, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”

God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you’” (Exodus 3:13-15).

Moses was 80 years old when he had his argument with God at the burning bush. But even the weakest knees in the hands of I AM can become a mighty force to be reckoned with.

I’ll go out on a limb and say that you too, at one time or another, will struggle with feelings of inferiority, insecurity, and inadequacy just like Moses did. And the underlying statement feeding the sense of worthlessness is “I’m not __________ enough.” You can fill that blank in with any number of qualities.

But here’s what we need to remember: Whatever we feel we are not, God is. He is the God who fills in our gaps; He is I AM who fills in our blanks.

When we say, “I’m not strong enough,” God says, “I AM.”
When we say, “I’m not wise enough,” God says, “I AM.”
When we say, “I’m not bold enough,” God says, “I AM.”
When we say, “I’m not smart enough,” God says, “I AM.”
When we say, “I’m not good enough,” God says, “I AM.”

Once we let go of the lies that we are not enough and take hold of the truth that we are more than enough because of Jesus’s presence and power in us, then we will be set free from paralyzing insecurity and be on our way to experiencing courageous confidence to do everything He calls us to do. It’s time get out of the caboose and sit up front with the Chief Engineer.

You want to know something amazing? One of my greatest weakness as a child was spelling words. And now that is what God has called me to do today…write with words. I stand with Paul who lamented about his weakness: “But he [God] said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me” (2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV).

That’s what happens when we allow God to fill in our blanks. He turns what we perceive as our greatest weakness into our greatest strengths.

What is God calling you to do today? In what areas do you feel that you’re not enough? Oh friend, because of Jesus Christ’s finished work on the cross, and His power in you, you are more than enough! Don’t forget it.

Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!

 

NOTE:  Photo by Hello I’m Nik on Unsplash

Unclutter Your Life

SMART De-Cluttering Goals

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If you are in direct sales or work in a corporate environment, you have heard the term S.M.A.R.T. goals.  You know that by using this format, you will get further faster with less struggle.  Did you ever think of using the same goal setting principles to de-cluttering your home or office.

Let’s be honest.  We all have visions of a clutter free home.  A quiet sanctuary that is easy to clean and free of “piles” every where you look.  Maybe you just want a home that is neat and tidy.  Everything put away where it belongs?

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So let’s apply the S.M.A.R.T goal theory to cleaning up the clutter:

“S” is for “specific”.  Get as detailed as you can when setting your goal. Instead of saying “I want to clean the family room” say “I want clean the family room by sorting all of the toys into 3 piles of keep, donate and toss.

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“M” is for “measurable”.  We need to be able to measure your goal. Three questions you can ask yourself to create measurable goals are – “How will you know when you’ve reached it? How much? How many?”  It we are cleaning, how will you know when you have reached your goal of getting the family room organized?

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“A” is for “attainable”.  Your goal must be attainable, doable and practical. You can’t possibly clean the family room in 30 minutes, right?  You need to give yourself an appropriate amount of time or it will never happen.  How about if you pick a room a day or maybe a few hours?

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“R” is for “realistic”.  This is the most important piece.  You can ensure your goal is realistic is by honestly asking yourself if you’re ready and willing to do what it takes to achieve the goal. If not, it’s not likely you’ll hit it.  Are you really ready to sort the family room into those 3 piles AND follow through?

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“T” is for “timely”.   Time frames create a sense of urgency and help you back into your goal. How long should this goal take? What’s an appropriate time frame?  Setting a goal with no completion date is continuing to push the goal off into the future. A time frame makes it real and gets you into immediate action.

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What is your SMART goal for de-cluttering your home? Share it with us.

Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!

Business Tips and Tricks, Hope Wissel

Are You BRAVE

What do you think of when you think of someone who is brave?  Do you have visions of our military across the world who support our freedom?  Do you think of those fighting terminal illnesses?  Do you think of those who seem to never get a break and are always struggling?  Do you think of YOURSELF?

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Would you consider yourself brave?  Have you overcome a fear and now feel confident with a purpose and fulfillment in your life?  If you so, guess what YOU are BRAVE!!

Ultimately being brave comes from a place of courage and self discovery.  So if you are wondering how you can become BRAVE in your business or in your personal life, here are some things that might help you on this journey:

Be Honest With Yourself About Your Big Dreams:   Do you have a BIG dream?  Do you have goals that seem so scary and out of reach that you are afraid to say them out loud?  Do you hide them from others because they may think they are silly or unattainable?

Did you know that once we speak them, we’re making space for the possibility that we might fail. Yes, I said might fail.  It is a 50/50 shot but that is OKAY!  By having the courage to be honest with ourselves about what it is we really want to do and achieve, we allow ourselves to explore whether it’s possible and what the next steps forward are for us to take.  If you have a big dream or goal that you’ve been keeping quiet and tucked away because you’re afraid you’re not good enough, that it’s not possible, or that there just isn’t enough hours in the day to make it happen, try saying it out loud and exploring realistically how you can start working towards it.

Take Small Steps:  Don’t just focus on the BIG dream, work on small pieces that will help you reach that dream.  Let the BIG dream be your motivation to keep moving forward as you take small steps forward.  Focus on quality over quantity.  If you are in direct sales, focus on the basics of book, sell and recruit.  Be consistent with your hostess coaching and with your follow-up.  Be consistent each week with your efforts.  Set small obtainable goals – CELEBRATE as you reach each milestone. REWARD yourself for your accomplishments, big or small.  Each small step gets you a little closer to your bigger goal and your ultimate dream.

Commit To A Bigger Project: When you start to feel a little uninspired, or like you’ve hit a wall and you’re aching for a new challenge – challenge yourself.  Team up with a friend or colleague or challenge your team.  Whether it’s stepping out of your comfort zone, a new party format, a booking blitz, moving to a new area, picking up the phone, a vendor event or accepting a challenge, taking a leap into a brand new adventure is enough to scare even the boldest of us. Being brave and taking that leap is a great way to really feel fulfilled and take a leap towards you BIG DREAM!

My challenge for you this week is to be brave. Even with the possibility of failure, judgement, and criticism, let this be the week we choose courage and reaching for your our DREAM.

Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!

 

 

 

Hope Wissel

Goal Setting

Struggling this morning on what to blog about but “goal setting” seemed to come up everywhere I turned so I figured – why not?

The Daily Thought from Direct Selling Association – Education Foundation was “Don’t let anything stop you from reaching for your goal.”  We set “goal weights” at Weight Watchers based on our height.  When I used to write grants for a non-profit, goals were an integral part of every program.  Most of us set goals on a daily or weekly basis as well in our personal life by making lists of things we want to accomplish.  I know that we don’t think of it that way but our “goal” is to complete the tasks, right?

I will fill you in on what my goal is through April 15th.  Your goals should contain these SMART components:
1.  Specific – So for me, I want to earn the Ready, Set, Sell Incentive from my direct sales company.

2.  Measurable – How do you plan to reach your goal?  Break it down into smaller mini-goals.  I am going to contact customers who have shown an interest in our customer special; I am going to update repeat customers on what products are retiring in case they want to place a last minute order

3.  Attainable – Is it even possible?  ABSOLUTELY!  My goal is attainable.  It will cause me to stretch out of my comfort zone but it is definitely achievable.

4.  Realistic – Even if you goal is attainable is it realistic based on the skills and techniques necessary to achieve the goal.  Yes, it is a realistic goal, and I do have the skills if I am willing to step out of my comfort zone.

5.  Timely – set a deadline.  Actually, my deadline is set by our Home Office in order to earn this amazing set of NEW Summer prints and products for FREE.

These basic steps can be applied to any goal you want to achieve.  Remember my goal of not having “jiggle thighs” but July 14th – that is still a SMART goal too.  

You can learn more about goal setting by checking out:   
Julie Anne Jones,  Wishbomb – The Goal Setting Site, and Weight Watchers .

How many of your New Year’s Resolutions have you tossed aside because they weren’t SMART goals?  As we get ready for Spring and Summer, set your SMART goals whether they be about weight loss, your professional life or your dream for the future.  Does it include going on a BIG vacation, earning a bonus, a better job or reaching your goal weight?  Whatever it is, don’t let anything or anyone get in your way.  

Have a ThirtyOne-derful day.