It can seem overwhelming when the world is at your fingertips.
Everyone knows everything. Communication is instant. People have no patience anymore. Everyone expects everything to be immediate.
There exists a such thing as “choice anxiety.” (When people have too many choices, it creates anxiety.)
When you can see anyone in the world doing anything, it can feel hard to measure up. You may compare yourself to other people. You see an influencer living her best life, and feel like you’re failing.
It wasn’t like this 20-30 years ago, before social media. People were content with the lives they had. They weren’t constantly exposed to seemingly bigger and better things.
In the 1950s and earlier, many women were content being housewives and mothers. Then they started keeping up with the Joneses. That meant more stuff, and more experiences. They entered the workforce, to have bigger houses and “nicer” things. Most homes built around the midcentury were about half the size of most homes in the US nowadays.
People were happy with “small” lives. They didn’t know what was happening around the world in every instant. They didn’t have opinions on everything. They just had opinions on what they knew; what concerned them.
In fact, the Bible mentions the importance of living a quiet life. In 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12, the Apostle Paul tells Christians “to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.”
When we involve ourselves in everyone else’s business, that’s when drama starts. We don’t feel as though we live up to someone else’s success. We feel like we’re always wanting more and more, in order to be content. We’re always irritated by injustices in the world. We have opinions on everything; from the latest news stories that break, to our family member’s Facebook posts.
But, what would happen if we followed biblical instruction? What if we did mind our own business and be happy with what we had?
Philippians 4:11–13 (NIV):
I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”
Being content with what God has given you is what creates peace.
God may have wealth in your destiny, but you shouldn’t constantly dwell on that. Constant toil is advised against in the Bible.
“It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.” Psalm 127:2
And Proverbs 23:4 says, “Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist.”
But, we have become an overworked and tired society. We’re always chasing the newest definition of success. Nothing is ever enough. Not our homes, our jobs, even our faces (hence all of the plastic surgery abound).
What if we instead focused on what God has given us? What if we focused on how we can impact the world, instead of how we’re falling short?
Focusing on a small thing and making it expand is how you become great at something. Commitment is when you cut off all other choices and focus on one thing only. It lessens anxiety.
What if you were to commit to what God has planned for you, and focus on that? What if you tuned out all of the noise of the world? How would your life change?
What would you accomplish? Who would you become?
I implore you to focus on that today, and everyday.
You’ve got this, and I’m always cheering you on.
