According to legend, victorious Roman military commanders had "Memento te mortalem esse" ("Remember, you are a mortal") whispered into their ear by charioteers called aurigas as they were paraded throughout the city after their conquests. 

When I was performing with Straight No Chaser (2008-2012), many of my days ended with thousands of people rising to their feet and erupting in applause.

Those five years of my life were full of amazing experiences, opportunities, and friendships that I will always treasure.  They were also a season of my life in which I let that constant praise partially blind me from who I truly was.

Slowly and silently, I bought into the lie that my worth was wrapped up within my work.  Many of my most important relationships - especially my walk with God - began to suffer as I turned my focus onto myself, my bank account, and my accomplishments.

I don't want you to make

the same mistakes that I did.

Here are three ways that you can avoid some of the slopes I've let myself slide down on occasion:
  • Practice gratitude.  Though I called myself a follower of Jesus during that season of my life, I was actually following money, ambition, and my own agenda for my life.  My treasure was in my bank account at the end of the year; and that's exactly where my heart drifted.  To this day, I'm still learning a healthy rhythm of pausing and giving thanks for the many blessings in my life before the day begins.

 

  • Find truth-tellers who care more about you than what you can do.  I have a list of wise women and men who regularly remind me of who I truly am.  They're unimpressed by my accomplishments and very concerned about the health of my soul, mind, and relationships.  Determining who your potential aurigas are will probably be easy; the hard work will be catching up to them.  (I've found they're almost always busy doing awesome, important, and gritty things that matter.)

 

  • Give yourself to others.  Neither you nor I were designed to be the star of our stories, basking in the limelight we've lit for ourselves.  Rather, we are uniquely made to serve, encourage, and inspire people with our stories as they live in theirs.  The more you focus on serving others, the more you'll discover who you were created to be.

Who helps you remember who you truly are?

Who can you serve today and how can you uniquely serve them?

Drop me a line and let me know.

If something in this post resonated with you today, feel free to share it with a friend who could use some encouragement.  Thanks for reading.

-Ryan