BROADCASTS.com

b'

Who among us is not insecure? We look around and see people who make more money. Who have bigger houses. Who have accomplished more than we have. This insecurity is compounded by social media, but it is also timeless. There\\u2019s a story that Julius Caesar once stood in front of a statue of Alexander the Great. At the age Caesar was at that moment, Alexander the Great had already conquered the world. By comparison, Caesar had done almost nothing.\\xa0

While there might be some motivational benefits to this insecurity, it\\u2019s probably not the best way to live. And does anyone think they do good work while telling themselves they are not enough? Might fullness and confidence actually be a better place\\u2014cognitively, creatively, emotionally\\u2014to approach your work and your life from than craving? You don\\u2019t make great work feeling like a piece of shit. You make great work knowing you are capable of making great work.\\xa0

In any case, the Catholic activist\\u2014and possibly future saint\\u2014Dorothy Day had a good observation that we can think about today as a way of putting some of those insecurities to bed. Because whatever you do, wherever you are in your career and life, there is something you should be taking great satisfaction and meaning in\\u2014there is something you should be incredibly proud of yourself for: the person(s) you have created. As she writes:

\\u201cIf I had written the greatest book, composed the greatest symphony, painted the most beautiful painting or carved the most exquisite figure, I could not have felt the more exalted creator than I did when they placed my child in my arms...No human creature could recieve or contain so vast a flood of love and joy as I felt after the birth of my child. With this came the need to worship, to adore.\\u201d\\xa0

That feeling, that feeling you felt the first day you held your children. The feeling you feel when they run into your arms and call you daddy. Or when they come into your room to ask for advice. Or when you sit across the table from them and watch them eat. That feeling\\u2014the pride, the love, the connection\\u2014this is the feeling to carry with you.\\xa0

You made that. You were the exalted creator of that. It might not be a billion dollar tech startup, it might not be a Grammy-winning album or the Mona Lisa, but it\\u2019s one hell of a something. And it\\u2019s only the beginning.\\xa0

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.