“So rejoice in the Lord and be glad, all you who obey him! Shout for joy, all you whose hearts are pure!” Psalm 32:11
I won’t feel Guilty about what brings me Joy.
Have you ever felt conflicted for being happy? Like, you are at a place of peace in your life, things are going well for you, and you find your heart full of Joy and Contentment because you know what it took to get to this place. But something just won’t let you be happy. You start to examine things deeper and find you’re a good person, you honor your elders, you’re walking in your purpose and your heart is genuine and pure, but for some reason you feel guilty for being happy about it. Maybe it’s because you know someone else is “losing” while you win, even though you have nothing to do with that. Maybe someone else you thought would be happy for you, just isn’t. Maybe you haven’t arrived beyond your imposter syndrome and are still struggling to accept your right to be here. No matter what is holding you back from walking in that Joy, I’m here to affirm you out of that sunken place.
Let’s start here: You have a right to win. When you look at yourself in the mirror and start to tell yourself that the opportunities that have been afforded to you belong to someone else, stop that. Just as much as you think someone else is more deserving, there’s a reality that says that isn’t true. The reality that you have a purpose and this opportunity has fallen into your opportune path. If it falls to you, it is yours and you have the right’s to it. Your ideas, your beauty, your strength, your resilience, whatever has allowed this door to open and you to walk through it means it’s yours. So own it.
Now here: You deserve every blessing and you can be happy about it. There’s so many faith based phrases I can throw at you here. Favor ain’t fair. Many are called but few are chosen. What God has for me is for me. But here’s my favorite (and it’s a song lyric so I hope the tune rings in your head and you can’t escape it): I get Joy when I think about what He’s done for me. You have a story that only you know. I know I do. And when I sit back and think about every hardship, every obstacle, every stressor and every pressure that I have endured to get where I am today, I can’t help but smile and be Joyful. Why would I deny myself that, and why should you?
Imposter syndrome can be a normal part of life, but not if it keeps you from living a normal life and thriving. If you find yourself missing opportunities or self sabotaging or even working yourself into a stupor trying to always “earn” your right to be or do something, because you just can’t shake this feeling that you don’t belong, it may be time to seek out someone to talk about those feelings with. Talk to people you love and trust, and if that doesn’t help as much as it could, seek out a professional, unbiased psychotherapist to help you work through that. We want you walking in your purpose, not cowering in it.
Don’t deny your heart happiness because you don’t understand your favor.
God wants us to have a happy life, especially when we walk with him. David wrote in his Psalms “So rejoice in the Lord and be glad, all you who obey him! Shout for joy, all you whose hearts are pure!” (Psalm 32:11) He’s given us every opportunity and blessing we’ve ever had, and the emotions to go with them. Guilt has it’s place in our lives. It is there to convict us when we’ve done something wrong. But if you haven’t done anything wrong to get where you are, why are you punishing yourself like you did? So don’t feel guilty about what brings you Joy. Don’t decide you’re unworthy, when God says you are. Enjoy this beautiful feeling of being so loved by your Creator that He saw fit to reward you. You’ve earned it. I love you, and as always, I’m rooting for you. Keep conquering daily, friends.
EMBRACING EMOTION: THE BLOG 