your best you.
It’s one thing to tell ourselves, “I can only fix myself.” It’s another thing to know how to do that. I have a few suggestions. Don’t be obsessed with yourself; take responsibility for yourself. I’m kind of shocked sometimes when I see how obsessed people can be with themselves. Lots of people think about themselves more than they think about others. Some are so focused on how great they are or are so worried about what others are thinking of them that they forget other people are great too, and they forget to put others first.
Being obsessed with ourselves is not the same as taking responsibility for ourselves. When we decide to take responsibility for ourselves, we can definitely acknowledge our good points, but we also have to look at areas where we need to grow and improve. Then we have to do something about those things. For example, do you have trouble being on time? That’s really disrespectful toward others, so maybe you can work on not being late anymore. Or do you sometimes tell little lies in order to keep from getting in trouble? That’s compromising your integrity, so you could decide today that you are going to tell the truth, even if you have to go through some consequences. The whole idea of personal responsibility is not always popular, but as I said earlier, it’s one of the best ways we can grow and become mature.
Think of it like a workout for what’s inside of you. Taking responsibility may feel heavy or hard—like lifting weights sometimes does—but it makes the muscles of who you are and makes your character strong. Get great friends. If you are anything like I am, your friends are really important to you. I have a great group of close friends. Some of them are in my grade at school, others are a year or two older. So obviously, what makes us friends is not that we are the same age, but that we share the same values. All of us love God, and we want to live our lives the way He teaches us in His Word.
No one can choose their family, but all of us can choose our friends. Whether you have a great family or a family you think is not so great, you can still choose awesome friends. They may not be the most popular group, but if they are people who love God, live by His Word, and have strong character, you can’t go wrong. You become like the people you hang around. One of the facts of life is that the people we are around have a major influence on us. So, spend your time with great friends, and they will help you become great too. Find someone older and wiser to talk to. I hope you have older, wiser people you can trust in your life, but I realize that not everyone does. I do have great parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles, but sometimes I meet people or get messages from people who say they cannot count on the adults in their family to help them grow up strong and godly. My best advice is to find a teacher, a coach, a neighbor, or even a friend’s family member who will help you learn to take responsibility for yourself and to make good choices.
DON’T FORGET You can’t change anyone else. You can only fix you!
Excerpted from Live Original by Sadie Robertson, copyright Sadie Robertson.
I’m a little saddened by this post. I always love you, Sadie but this felt a little forced. I wish I could have gotten more out of this
I’m sorry you didn’t get anything out of this. please encourage them. I was convicted by this. They just want to be honest with us and help see us grow in Christ. God bless you sister.
Loved this! On point, Sadie!
Ok. Fine. I give, I’ll be honest. ? I’ll marry you. I need and want marry the woman of my dreams. ( Literally ) Marry me. Will you marry me? I know you require patience, but how long wilt thou art make me wait?–NJ
Ok. Fine. I give, I’ll be honest. ? I’ll marry you. I need and want to marry the woman of my dreams. ( Literally ) Marry me. Will you marry me? I know you require patience, but how long wilt thou art make me wait?–NJ
Wow! This was definitely convicting. Thank you so much for this. As much as I don’t like to hear this information, i need to because I do want to have integrity and character in my life and please God! God is giving me the opportunity to join a group of like-minded women my age to have a bible study on thursday nights and study from the book of Romans. I get to learn more about Paul which im super excited about and learn about the women im studying with and we can encourage each other.
God is teaching me to have more integrity in my work, to work with character and honesty. I want my life to be the best example so that people want to ask me questions about my faith in God. He is teaching me to get out of my comfort zone still and be willing to let Him lead and stop having all my pride.
Thanks Sadie for the post, live original and everyone doing this and God bless you guys. please brothers and sisters dont post anything negative on here. God is working thru them and they just want to be honest with us.
This is a really great message! Thank you for sharing this, I can definitely apply this to life!
Love it.
God Bless you Sadie you are such an amazing individual! Soooo True. Thank you for the encouragement?Here’s the chorus to a song I’m working on that feels relatable enough to this post to share. "If you plan to maintain away from the pain you have to land in a lane that refrains from the lame and is different then the same in search of gain not what’s in vain far from plain with or against the grain you gotta represent your name"
Love the part where you talked about your friends influence you the most. I’ve always been a strong believer in "you are who you surround yourself with", and have learned to be very picky with who I hang out with and who I let influence my life. This is SO important, especially for young teens.