What if we lit each other's fire?
It is Marianne Williamson who said that we are all born great,
That our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate,
But that we are powerful beyond measure,
That it is our light and not our darkness that most frightens us.
Despite this greatness that is in each of us,
We are often visited by self-doubt,
The feeling that we are not good enough,
The feeling that we don’t measure up.
In these times of self-doubt, we need words of encouragement,
A reminder that we are able, that we can,
We especially value these words coming from people special to us,
From people we love, trust, or look up to.
However, these compliments are not always forthcoming,
What we sometimes get is continuous berating,
A focus on our flaws and inadequacies,
Acts that fuel the flames of our insecurities.
We are not saints either,
Sometimes, we unintentionally keep projecting our fears and insecurities on others,
We keep on wanting to impose our limits on them,
We keep on magnifying their little flaws,
And continue making them feel like they are insufficient.
So, here is a thought,
What if we made it our business to make our loved ones attain their greatness,
What if instead of criticising them and highlighting their flaws,
We used the same energy to illuminate their greatness and potential.
What if we loudly gave compliments?
And highlighted things that our friends are exceptional at?
And not just mentioning once, but repeatedly,
To quiet that spirit of self-doubt that each one of us has.
To quiet that thought that they are not good enough for that job opening,
That they are not good enough for that promotion they have been eyeing,
That they are not good enough for that career shift they have been thinking about,
That they are not good enough for that scholarship,
That they are not good enough to publish in that highly regarded journal,
That they are not good enough to author that book,
That they are not good enough to perform at that concert they’ve been invited to,
That they are not good enough for that beauty pageant,
That they are not good enough to give that speech,
That they are not good enough to run for that political office,
That they are not good enough to pitch for that startup funding,
That they are not good enough for that person they have a crush on.
Everyone needs that encouragement every now and then,
Everyone needs that steady hand to keep pushing,
To have their confidence restored,
So let us not hold it back,
Because we would be holding back the greatness of others,
And unveiling that greatness will definitely make the world better!
