I'll Show You How Great I Am

Today I started the summer weight lifting class at Mountain View and I have to say... it kicked my butt! After being lazy and not lifting for a couple weeks my body had no idea what it was in for. It was a little intimidating being the only girl, but all of the guys were supportive. Special thanks to Jake Tessers for being so patient even though he still pushed me.

As we were lifting Coach Blevins played a CD that was a compilation of motivational quotes. I have heard it many times before but something really hit me today. This is the speech "Be Great, Be Powerful Beyond Measure."

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure, beyond measure. Ima show you, how great I am.Last night I cut the light off in my bedroom, hit the switch, and was in the bed before the room was dark. Ima show you, how great I am. Only last week, I murdered a rock, injured a stone, hospitalized a brick, Im so mean I make medicine sick. Ima show you, how great I am. This kids gonna be the best kid in the world. This kids gonna be somebody better than anybody I ever knew. Ima show you, how great I am.I have wrastled with an alligator, I done tussled with a whale, I done handcuffed lightnin, thrown thunder in jail. Ima show you, how great I am. All you chumps are gonna bow when I whoop him, all of you, I know you got him, I know you've got him picked, but the mans in trouble, Ima show you how great I am. But somewhere along the line you changed, you stopped being you. You let people stick a finger in your face and tell you you're no good, and when things got hard, you started looking for something to blame, like a big shadow. Let me tell you something you already know, the world ain't all sunshine and rainbows, its a very mean and nasty place and I don't care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody, is gonna hit as hard as life; but it ain't about how hard you hit, its about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward, how much you can take and keep moving forward. Thats how winning is done. Cause if you're willin to go through all the battling you gotta go through to get to where you wanna get, who's got the right to stop you. I mean maybe some of you guys got something you never finished, something you really want to do, something you never said to somebody, something. And you're told not even after you pay your dues, who's got the right to tell you that, who? Nobody. Its your right to listen to your gut, it ain't nobody's right to say no, after you earn the right to be where you want to be and do what you want to do. Now if you know what you're worth, then go out and get what you're worth. But you've gotta be willing to take the hits. And not pointing fingers saying you ain't where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that and that ain't you! You're better than that! Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. All you chumps are gonna bow when I whoop him, all of you, I know you got him, I know you've got him picked, but the mans in trouble, Ima show you how great I am.

The part that really struck me today was the well known line "I'll show you how great I am." I just had this little thought that was telling me it's okay to be selfish when it comes to bettering yourself. I have always been intimidated by anyone who is better than me at something. As I have gone through the girl's weight lifting class I have seen how I better myself. I felt better about myself and my confidence went WAY up! There are times when you will be told you aren't good enough. It's true, it does happen. This is when you get to be selfish. Show them how great you are.

Sometimes I wish I could step out of my own body and yell at myself. Things like "Don't you DARE give up!" or "You show them how great you are!! I really don't care if you fall down, get kicked or beaten up... GET UP AGAIN!" I didn't expect to get emotional while writing this, but I definitely am. I do not deserve to be treated like a nobody -- and neither do you! Show them who is powerful and you will conquer your insecurities.

On a more spiritual note, I would like to illustrate a little scenario for you. Show the adversary how great you are. Show him how powerful you really are. Picture the devil running full blast towards you and he is thinking "alright, here we go! We are going to get him/her!" He sees you reading your scriptures and he instantly halts, confused. As he continues to watch you read he becomes more angry. When you are done he starts to take interest again and thinks he is about to "get you". You kneel in prayer and he is beginning to be frantic with anger. He HATES it when we do the things that God asks us to do in order to keep nourishing our relationship with Him. Brother Hess acted this out in Summer Seminary today. What if we started (or continued) to do those things necessary to grow closer to God? Satan would finally start to have less and less of an affect on us. He will always be there trying to tempt or distract us, but we build up a wall around us as we do the things that God has asked us to do. Think of it as a literal wall protecting you. Building up your wall will really help you avoid the proddings of the devil.

Life is hard. But you can show it how great you really are!