I’ve got a secret remedy for insecurity. It’s the same remedy I use for when I get, as my dad used to say, “Too big for your britches.” Funny how attitudes on two opposite ends of the spectrum can have the same remedy. The reason it works is because it takes the focus off of self. Let me explain how it works for me.
When I go to national writers conferences, it’s easy to feel intimidated. There are some important people—writers and industry professionals I respect—who also attend. Sure, I’m on faculty with them, but I’m no somebody. Not like them! See how dangerous that way of thinking is? Whether I think I’m somebody or nobody, when I have my eyes on self, I’ve got the wrong focus. The only way I can go to these events and not feel insecure is to remember who I am in God, and to remember why I am there.
At the most recent conference, I asked God to help me keep the focus on Him, and on others. In order to do this, He led me to think, pray, and say, “At your service.” When I pray it, I pray, “At your service, Lord.” When I see others who might feel out of place, just like me, I say to myself as I walk over to them, “At your service.” And when others who have more clout are near me, I also think, “At your service.” God wants me to treat everyone the same, out of an attitude of truly caring and wanting to help. It all starts with recording a new internal voice. When I start by serving God, wanting to serve others soon follows. And what a joy it is!