The other day I showed my 2 boys a finished painting and asked, “Well what do you think?” The younger one’s eyes got big and he asked, “Mom! How did you actually get it right this time?!” As you can see my children aren’t always impressed by the fact that their mom is an artist. In all honesty, I love that. I am more concerned that they know they are loved so much more than whether or not they approve of my craft.
But how often do we measure our worth by someone else’s opinion? I’ve heard so many stories over the years of people who decided they were not artists because some teacher somewhere told them they weren’t. (Now that’s a whole other blog!)
Here’s the deal. If I didn’t paint, it would not lower my worth. My value as a person is not dictated by who likes me, who doesn’t like me, my talent, who likes my art, who doesn’t, how much money I make…you get the picture.
If I don’t really fully understand who I am, that my value comes simply from “being” and not from “doing” then my life becomes a roller coaster. Up when I get the attention I need to “feel” valued. Down when I feel like I’m being ignored or don’t make the cut. That is NOT freedom. That’s not the way I want to live.
Grace and acceptance go a long way when it comes to how I view myself. We all make mistakes. We all “fail”. But it is so true that we can learn from mistakes and failures. That’s not the time to throw in the towel. Make your apologies and change course!
But all the while, remember your value, your worth does not come from your mistakes. They do NOT need to identify you. They are simply a part of your story. A PART, not the whole.
So what have you been measuring your worth by? How much grace do you give to yourself? Acceptance?
Every day is new. Every day is a new opportunity to start over.
So start over. Every day. You are worth it!
Chelle