Use the Equipment You Have

Man.  I listened to an incredible talk on Sunday evening.  I'm gonna have to listen to it again.  And I will tomorrow night at Elevation GTA.  Lucky for you we live in 2013, and you can listen to it too (or watch it) here.  (part 4 - It's not a Competition, it's a Calling)

I have been thinking about the idea that we compare ourselves way too much.  Well, at least I do.  You probably don't though.  ;)  I don't even consciously take notice that I'm comparing...that's just how common it is in my life!

One major point that I pulled from the talk is that sometimes we compare ourselves to others and we get hung up on the fact that we don't measure up.  That somehow we are falling behind because we can't do things the way "they" do them.  But there's a second vein that totally caught me off guard.  That is that sometimes we compare ourselves to others and think that maybe because we are doing better than them in one way or another, we have got it nailed.  Gulp.

Both ways of comparing put us in a dangerous place - at a standstill.  We stop because we feel we will never get there.  Or we stop because we feel we have reached the bar, and we think we don't need to do more.

Well, what if we are meant for more than that?  And we are.  Truthfully.

I teach a photography class every week and one of the main points I try to get my students to see is that they are probably not using their current camera to it's fullest potential.  Many times we see photos that someone else is producing and we want that, so we go and buy a camera like theirs.  Then once we have that, we see something else and we feel another need for an upgrade.  And honestly, the desire to upgrade never, ever stops once you go that route.  The key is to figure out every thing, every strength, every ability, your current equipment has and focus in on that.  Stay on the path of learning what your camera can do instead of what it doesn't do.

Same goes for your life and calling.

We are each uniquely gifted.  If we focus on what we are called to be, and equipped to do, instead of trying to do what everyone else is, or what is popular, we can become much more than we ever thought possible.

Now make sure you listen to the talk.  You'll get so much out of it.  Go.  Listen to it.  You know you want to, so do it.  :)   (part 4 - It's not a Competition, it's a Calling)

And have a GREAT weekend.