Be you. Everyone else is already taken.

A friend of mine just started a blog. It's amazing. Every post makes me think and then makes me want to be better.

One particular post talked about wanting to be someone else and baggage. Everyone compares themselves to others. I do. I'm pretty sure you do. He does. She does. Even those people that everyone wants to be...they do. Its human nature to compare ourselves to others. But we need to stop.

"We spend so much time and energy comparing ourselves to others—usually comparing our weaknesses to their strength" (President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Forget Me Not). Our weaknesses to their strengths! And they do the same with us. We are not perfect. They are not perfect. And we are all imperfect in different ways. So my current goal: To want to be me and nobody else.

I also thought about baggage. We all have it. I've actually been struggling with mine A LOT lately. But I realized that I would much rather have my baggage than anyone else's. I wouldn't want to go through what my family members go through. I wouldn't want to go through what my friends are going through. I wouldn't want to go through what millions, trillions, billions of strangers are going through right now. I wouldn't want to go through what my ancestors went through. I wouldn't even want to go through what I went through in the past! Sometimes I feel like I have it hard, like I got the short end of the stick, or that life isn't fair. But if you look at it with those glasses on, it isn't fair to anyone. How about you change your prescription? The current prescription on your glasses is incorrect, its messing up your vision, making it blurry. So switch. See clearly. See the positive. And realize why other people want to be you, with your baggage, with your imperfections, everything. No matter who you are, there is still someone out there who would love to be you! So why not be one of those people?

So many people love me, warts and all. And I love so many people, warts and all. I couldn't imagine myself not loving them. So why don't I feel the same about myself?
Because I'm human, and because in order to want to change I must feel discontent (hopefully divine discontent). Its what drives us to always want to be better. But instead of focusing on what I'm not so great at, how about balancing it a little more. Don't focus on the weaknesses, it destroys our self esteem and confidence. Don't focus on only the good, that makes us cocky and gives us a huge ego. How about a good healthy balance?

And the real thought that came from Justin's post...

Do we sometimes choose our baggage? Or choose to keep lugging it around with us?
Could I choose to stop loving that person who doesn't love me back? Could I choose to forget all the things that have happened in my life? Or could I at least forgive? Forgive myself, forgive others, even if I don't understand why? Could I stop
hurting and start healing?

Friends. I want your opinions. How do you get over your issues? How to you stop dragging your baggage with you? How do you lighten your load?