You are amazing

You are enough. There's no need to waste your energy, in trying to be someone else. No one is better than you. And what you do best, is being you. Wishing or pretending you're something that you're not, robs precious time and energy from being the best you can be. There's plenty of cause for joy, in the person that you are. To be your best, be yourself. No one sees the world, in quite the same way as you. No one cares, or loves, or gives, like you. You have something very special to offer. There are things you were meant to do. Be the best that you can be, by finding and mastering the art of being you.-Ralph Marston

You are amazing, quite simply incredible. If you're lucky or blessed, you've been told this. You grew up in a home where this was an acknowledged fact, or perhaps not acknowledged but simply known and felt. Keep that in your heart.

If you were not lucky or blessed enough to be told this as a child, then hear me now. You are amazing and incredible. There is no one like you. Even if you are an identical twin, there are still differences between you enough for you to be a unique individual.

Too many people compare themselves to others. "I couldn't be as good a writer as Stephen King." "I couldn't paint nearly as well as Georgia O'Keefe." "I can't bake as well as Mary down the street." "I'm not as good a salesperson as Bob." Or any of a number of other statements, comparisons. And what usually follows those statements is "so I may as well not try."

BULL!

No, you might not sell as many books as Stephen King, but you will not write the same books as Stephen King. You have something else to say, something different from what he is writing. There are many horror writers throughout time, none of which are exactly alike, but all very good. Do you think that the existence of H.P. Lovecraft stopped Stephen King from writing? Do you think he said, "Oh, there's already been an excellent horror writer. I won't bother trying."? NO! He obviously didn't. And you shouldn't either.

So you can't paint as well as Georgia O'Keefe. So what? Can Georgia O'Keefe paint as well as Picasso? Can Picasso paint as well as Rembrandt? And how do the three of them compare to Andy Warhol? There is so much for the human heart to say that it will never all be said. Paint, create, write, be amazing, and bring into the world some of the most wonderful stuff that ever has been - your perspective, unique and wonderful.

Perhaps Mary is the better baker. So what? She is not you. Do not try to be her. There is more to you than your baking. There is your attitude, there is your actions, there is your relationships with others. Was there a dish that your mother or aunt or uncle or neighbor made that was nothing like anyone else ever made? Perhaps a stew or brownies or some special something that made the pot roast so completely unique that you never found it anywhere else? Have you found better stews, brownies, or roasts elsewhere? Are you going to stop eating your loved one's food? There is room enough in this world for more than one excellent bakers, cooks, salespersons, mothers, radicals, etc. There is room enough for more than one excellent one, but you will forever be compared to the "better" one if you are constantly trying to be/act/sell like that person. Be yourself. There will be no need for comparison if you are yourself, because you are unique, and you bring something to this world that no one else ever has and no one else ever will. Be yourself. You are amazing, and the world needs you.