When Impressing Others Depresses Us

To the doers, the givers, the helpers, and the responsible ones: are you tired from the way you’re living your life?

I know this so well.

Many days I go through the motions necessary to get me and my people through the day without giving a second thought as to why.

All this work I’m doing, who is it really for?

I push through, drive on, check the boxes, and fall into bed each night utterly exhausted without truly considering my motivation.

It’s easy to say it’s for God. Or for my family’s provision. Or for the people I serve.

It’s easy to think: There are things that have to be done and if I don’t do them, no one will.

But could some part of that “drive” to complete be to impress others? To be more noticed? To push past the crowd and stand in the spotlight of success? To feel like you matter? To prove someone wrong who said you couldn’t?

Maybe not.

But maybe so.

Only that deep down inside of us place where honesty speaks freely and the Holy Spirit is listened to, knows.

Sweet friend, I’ve tasted that bitter aftertaste of trying to impress. And it was the quickest route to feeling completely depressed. If the accolades coming from others are the lifeline to our pursuits, we become enslaved by their compliments and crushed by their criticisms.

So this next week, do something new.

Create something that’s totally you without being held back by the fear that others won’t like it. Dare to be delighted by your work. Dare to remember your work is delightful to the Lord. Then your work will once again delight you. And after you are finished, rest. And smile. And enjoy your life.

“Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people.” — Ephesians 6:7

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How Can I Grow Closer to God?
God’s Unfailing Love
Rejection, Heartache, and a Faithful God