When you do anything worthwhile, who do you do it for? Yourself, your parents, your spouse, your kids, your employer, social media, your doctor? Whose approval are you looking for?

If we think about it more honestly, it’s probably directed to whichever community it was intended for to get a desired response. It’s the reason we mostly put our best foot forward when we post ourselves for the world to see on social media. Rarely do we see anyone airing out their dirty laundry for everyone’s scrutiny.

Let’s just think about that for just a moment. Now here is a related question: What is the fastest way to collapse your energy? The answer is putting your self-worth out for others to validate and yet that’s what we all do. Trying to present ourselves at our best out there for all of THEM.

However, WHO are THEY and why did we ever give them the power to give us the final score on our lives? This is a good question to ponder over.

The only person you have to engage with and get excited about is you, yourself, and your Maker. That goes for everyone! There is no need to run through life, looking over at the other person’s lane and see how that person is views you unless it’s inspiration for you to level up.

However, it’s easy to get lost in an instant. It would be very healthy to have the “you” of today be inspired to become in competition with the “yesterday” version of you. That’s called self-improvement and self-discovery which come with discipline, confidence, commitment, and perseverance which amount to an overall appreciation for who YOU ARE!

Conversely, it would be a big mistake to make a spectacle of yourself and your EGO by choosing to be competitive with someone else and here’s why -- your accountability. Who are you being accountable to? Accountability is not something that works when you expect your “competitor” to care or your co-worker or that stranger on social media. They would probably like to see you fail. Call it insecurity on their part and that could be for any number of reasons. Maybe they’re jealous or feel inferior or just hate losing.

So, whatever the reason, people out there are not on your side when you are on a mission to seek self-improvement and that isn’t your problem to deal with.

Even if they are more helpful than hurtful it doesn’t mean they should be the REASON for you being in action and striving to be successful in your endeavours. Don’t get it wrong, there will be judging all the way through, no doubt. But does anyone other than you have the right to pass judgment on a work in progress? Now let’s get over to the real master of your domain...YOU!

Is it fair to say that if no one was watching and you were all alone that you might do things with just a touch less vigour, a little less urgency, and preserve just a tiny bit of that energy instead of going absolutely FULL OUT? Many who are truthful to themselves would say “yes”. Some would say “OH YEAH, I’d probably even put it off until later”.

If you can see the dilemma, you’ll notice that your pure power has been handed over to SPECTATORS of your life. Hence, when you feel that if you aren’t being watched, “no harm no foul” can apply. How’s that been working out for you?

Here’s how it’s been working out, complete and utter collapse of your own energy, because without realizing it, YOU have been watching yourself all along. It turns out their approval was never in play because yours always was and always will be. You can never escape your own judgment of your own self-worth but, and a very BIG BUT…. you can take your power back with one simple word. Integrity.

Integrity is not something you possess, as you may have already assessed because it’s not like you have never shown it before and had people admire that in you at that moment. Even you were impressed with yourself when you did that thing that required integrity.

But then there were those times that you didn’t show integrity and it would have looked something like this. “Hey honey, garbage pick-up is on Thursday, please take it out, thanks”. Then you either didn’t do it or you DID do it but on Friday instead which is totally useless now.

Integrity isn’t something someone owns. It’s more like a muscle that you flex every time it needs to be flexed. You should actually be excited at the opportunity to flex it because it is a constant reminder that YOU ROCK!

Remember, be aware It’s also something that comes with a time limit, as with the Thursday garbage, that work assignment, or with that wellness plan that you are you on.

If you do it for someone else, and they’re not watching, the “no will know” I’m out of integrity will most likely show its ugly head sooner or later. But if you do it for only YOURSELF and let others spectate if they wish, then you’re always watching, in which case integrity is the muscle to be flexed each and every time because YOU SAID SO!

So, who is the most important person in the world? Well, if it isn’t you, everyone losses, especially you. Make sure you know it is YOU.