You look at her and wish you had what she has. You wish you had her life, her marriage, her kids, her figure, her house, her skills, her ability to make life look effortless… or whatever it is of hers that you wish you had.
You can waste hours of time and enormous amounts of energy wishing you had someone else’s life. But guess what? You won’t find happiness trying to chase after someone else’s life and success.
Contentment is the key to true joy. It’s also the foundation of financial stewardship.
It’s hard to enjoy living on a budget if you aren’t willing to be grateful for exactly where you are. It’s hard to stick with a financial plan if all you can think about is wanting more than you currently have.
As I told you recently, I've wasted much of my life pining away for a different time, a different season, a different set of circumstances. I also wasted a lot of time chasing after more.
In fact, looking back, I realized that I bought into the lie that more is always better. More money. More influence. More impact. More fame. More stuff. More friends. More. More. More. More.
While there can be good things with some of those "more's", it's time we stop spending our life chasing after more and really stop and ask ourselves, "When is enough, enough?"
I've been asking myself the following questions:
- Am I only feeling contentment when I'm doing a lot?
- Is my joy and fulfillment coming from when I am having the biggest impact?
- What does enough look like for me?
- Would I be settled right where I'm at with what I have?
- Would I be content if I knew that where I am right now will never change?
I'm committing to love my actual life. The one I'm really living. Right here. Right now. Today.
It's sometimes messy. It's sometimes disorganized. And I rarely get everything done that I hope to in a day, but that doesn't mean I can't embrace it, savor it, and fall in love with it.
It's a gift. All of it. And the more I choose to see it as such, the more I notice the gifts and the beauty all around me.
We can't change who we are, but we can make the most of our situation. We can't choose the personality we are born with, but we can choose to be thankful–even in the midst of difficulty.
And we can choose to be intentional and purposeful in how we live our lives so that we make the most of all that we've been given instead of wishing we were someone else.
If you struggle with discontentment, feeling like you’re not good enough, and feeling like you don’t measure up, I encourage you to check out The Comparison Trap devotional app. This is a 4-week FREE devotional app for women.
When you download the FREE Comparison Trap Devotional App, you’ll get:
- Four 20-minute videos featuring Sandra & Andy Stanley–Watch & be inspired during the 4-week study.
- 28 mini-devotions by Sandra Stanley — Read one each day and be encouraged in your journey!
- 28 social media images — View and/or post these as extra reminders!
- 5 Worship Songs by North Point Music — Listen to these during the month to uplift you!
If you struggle with discontentment or feeling like you’re not enough in comparison to other women, The Comparison Trap is for you. There is SO much joy that comes from realizing your own worth, adopting a grateful attitude, and being content right where you’re at in life.
Want to go through The Comparison Trap devotional book with a friend?
I’m thrilled to be offering a special giveaway to go along with the FREE The Comparison Trap devotional app. The Comparison Trap devotional book is a companion guide to the app and can be used individually for personal study/quiet time, or you can utilize the discussion questions to go through it with a friend or in a small group setting.
I have 25 pairs of The Comparison Trap devotional book to give away to my readers! That means you’ll win TWO copies of this devotional book — one for you and one for a friend, so that you can go through it together! Use the box below to enter the giveaway.
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