Be the Next You

 

One of my favorite commercials right now is  Under Armour sponsored and features Morgan Freeman reading a letter from Tom Brady to young athletes.

He tells kids not to be the next Tom Brady but to be YOU.

I was at a leadership conference this weekend where a similar message was shared.  She said once she stopped trying to be the next Oprah, the next Mother Teresa and the next Eleanor Roosevelt, she was able to be the best Angela (her name). 

It's easy for me to look around in real life or on social media and compare myself.  

If only my house looked like hers...

If only my baking tasted like his....

If only my kids achieved like theirs....

If only I was fit like her....

Of course I can be INSPIRED by others and emulate their good qualities.

But the only person I was created to be is me.

As President Joy D Jones taught, "Despite this marvelous truth, how many of us struggle, from time to time, with negative thoughts or feelings about ourselves? I do. It’s an easy trap. Satan is the father of all lies, especially when it comes to misrepresentations about our own divine nature and purpose. Thinking small about ourselves does not serve us well. Instead it holds us back. As we’ve often been taught, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”  We can stop comparing our worst to someone else’s best. “Comparison is the thief of joy.”

Be the next you.