Most of us at some time have had thoughts such as, "I'll have difficulty making conversation with those people; they're so much more intelligent than I am." Or, "I can't be expected to compete; I have nowhere near the same experience." Or, "I could have done so much better in life if I had known, at the beginning, what I know now!"
Thoughts like these used to invade my thinking regularly. I just did not see myself as one of life's successes. Along with this lack of confidence came a hunger for people to pat me on the back when I did do something well, to give me reassurance. Now, please don't laugh, but I actually got to the point where if someone paid me a compliment, I found it impossible to believe that person.
What was wrong with me? I was being fooled by a limited, material view of myself instead of realizing my inherent goodness and worthiness as the child of God.
