I ask myself this question at least a dozen times each day. I have to. It keeps me focused, driven, motivated. I am not a focused, driven, or motivated person. I'm just not. In fact, I'm pretty lazy most of the time. Asking myself this question often reminds me to do something productive before the day is over. Whether that be a load of laundry, filling an etsy order, loading the dishwasher, etc. ANYTHING. Besides caring for my 4 month old round the clock because, oh yeah, I do that too. Accomplishing small tasks throughout the day makes me feel productive, but it doesn't actually make me feel accomplished. In fact, I haven't felt truly accomplished in a while. I think that's a symptom of being a stay at home mom sometimes. The ins and outs of our day-to-day lives can feel very average and even mundane. It's difficult to feel like I'm truly accomplishing anything despite feeling absolutely drained at the end of each day.
I wake up every morning at around 6 AM (after roughly 4-5 hours of sleep, on a good night), change L's diaper, nurse him, attempt to feed myself a decent breakfast (usually end up settling for dry toast), entertain him for a couple of hours, change his diaper, nurse him down for a nap, tackle a chore or two, change L's diaper, nurse him, wear him in the sling while doing various tasks, change his diaper, play with him, nurse him down again, attempt to have some down time, change his diaper, nurse him...and the whole day pretty much looks like that on repeat until bed time.
Even though I do so much every day, I struggle with feeling truly accomplished. I feel very, well...ordinary. And I don't like it. I want to feel extraordinary. But, how? What will it take for me to feel like I'm not "just average"? I don't know that I ever won't feel that way and I don't know that it matters.
You know the saying, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder"? Well, maybe greatness is in the eye of the beholder as well. What truly measures greatness? To some, greatness is a Ph.D. To others, it's selflessness and a servant's heart. Some people measure greatness in riches. So perhaps greatness is relative. In that case, who's to say I'm not great? Who's to say I'm not extraordinary? I might not be your idea of extraordinary. I might not even be my own idea of extraordinary. But that doesn't mean I'm not.
There isn't one factor that makes an ordinary person extraordinary, just like there isn't one thing in particular that makes a person beautiful. We are all just human beings attempting to be the best versions of ourselves. Maybe we are all extraordinary, and if we'd only stop comparing ourselves to our neighbors we would see it, too. If every day you are doing the best that you can do to be better, to move forward, to grow; then you are being extraordinary. Remember that. 
Via Pinterest.com
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