“We’re insecure and looking for acceptance, so we do dumb things in our desperation.”

A thought by Bob Goff, from his book, Dream Big (Kindle Locations 449-450). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

That is the truth, isn’t it?

Bob says, “We smoke or cuss or dress or act like someone we really aren’t to gain acceptance from people we don’t really know. We’re all going to make mistakes. Some are premeditated and weirdly intended to be self-destructive. Others just arise simply because we don’t understand what is happening around us. Those are the mistakes that remind us of our humanity and help us be truthful with ourselves about the fact that we don’t have it all figured out.”

Later he says, “I used to think that we had to have our act together for God to use us and for our ambitions to be attainable, but I don’t think that anymore. Here’s the incredible thing: I couldn’t even take my own temperature, but God still finds a way to use me. He’ll use you, too, if you’re willing. Something happens when we mess up. We get to start fresh. Are we going to get it wrong from time to time? Yep. Will we make big things out of small things? You bet. Yet God is infinitely patient with us. Sometimes the mistakes are small ones and sometimes they’re big ones. I’m still messing up the simple things in my life like taking my temperature, but God calls me His own nonetheless. He does the same with you. We need to get this straight as we explore our ambitions, or we’ll let our past failures block our bright futures.”

He then says, “We’ve all suffered setbacks. Maybe you’ve tried to go after some audacious dreams that got derailed along the way. Maybe a few others sunk at the dock. What do you do when this happens? This book isn’t full of airtight answers, but it will ask a few questions and offer a pathway to reframe your thinking. In the meantime, though, don’t feel bad about not being perfect before you start.”

So, let’s do what we can to reframe our thinking so we will keep at it when we make mistakes, which we will, okay?

Yes, yes!

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