“Don’t sleep on me, I got big plans”

Word to Drake…

But who is it that we are trying to wake up and why do we care so much? For years and I mean years, I struggled with feeling inferior to others and like I’m not good enough to do what God has said that I can do and what He has clearly gifted me in. So do you know what I did? I made up imaginary haters and blamed them for my unwillingness to grow. Sound familiar? No? Just me? Kool. If I have learnt one thing in this life of mine it is that insecurities can be very loud. ‘LET YOUR WORK MAKE THE NOISE’ says the noise maker. ‘MAKE MOVES IN SILENCE’ please do so then sir/ma’am. All of these self soothing quotes are all to say ‘please look at me I’m doing something and I want you to know about it.’ Why? Because we crave validation but we are also broken.

Don’t get me wrong there are people that hate you because they know that you are destined for greatness, I’ve experienced that too but my main message isn’t necessarily about them today, maybe another day, possibly, not sure yet. There is also a time, way and place to promote yourself, and I am all for it but be all in. Don’t promote yourself in a way that still allows you room to fail and not get back up (see the above quotes).

When we say ‘don’t sleep on me’ who are we talking to? The harsh reality is that sometimes it is the figment of our own imagination. We aren’t getting the recognition we believe is due to us and therefore fill in the gaps and say to ourselves ‘people clearly don’t know my worth.’ ‘The haters is out to get me.’ Why is their validation so important? Could it be that we are not properly dealing with our insecurities and projecting the devils distractions onto insignificant or even imaginary ‘haters.’ Could it be that what we are putting out isn’t to the best of our ability or inconsistent and therefore interfering with the perceptions of those who should be on our team? Could it be that we are getting in our on way on the road to success? So many questions.

However, another reason could be that you are currently hidden. This time of being hidden causes you to be ‘slept on’  (see the story of David, if anybody was slept on in this life it was him) but during this time you are learning, growing and being prepared for where God is taking you to. Don’t despise this time and wish it away, I know I’d rather make a mistake now when I’m hidden than rush into the spotlight and make mistakes I could have learnt from in secret (amen?). God knows how long you’ve been there, He knows the gifts, dreams and the talents you have and as He works all things out for our good, He promised, He will also bring us out at the appointed time. And guess what? You will still be slept on and hated on because as there is always someone better than you, there is always going to be someone bitter about you.

In conclusion, stop sleeping on yourself. Go through this time of obscurity and little to no recognition but be consistent and have integrity so it becomes who you are. Go through this time of nobody seeing your graft because in due time you will be exalted and those that need to be awake will be.

The aim of this post is to inspire a change of mindset, to free us from the prison of insecurity, to become creative and fruitful beings.