As I went to spin class one day, I sat there and looked around in amazement.

As each one of us entered the room, hopped on the bike, and started pedaling we were no longer separate people. In that instant, we became one unit. Working together, leaning on each other for strength and pushing towards that finish line.

There was no comparison to the person next to us. Or the thoughts of “oh I am so much better than them”.

Finding an environment that encourages you can be difficult.

But I found an example of one in an unlikely place.

Have you guys ever heard of the “crab mentality”?

When crabs are put in an open bucket none of them will get out. Individually these crabs have the ability to get out on their own and get back in the water, however if one of these crabs tries to escape out of the bucket all the other crabs would start pulling it right back down. If the crab still persists, the other crabs would then break its arms off. And at that point if it still tries to get out, the other crabs would kill it.

Human beings can be very similar to crabs sometimes.

As a metaphor, let’s say you are in a big bucket or barrel. You are surrounded by all these people in that barrel. Your barrel could be your job, your community, your church, anything. You start “getting out of the bucket” and following your dreams, your passions, your goals. The rest of these people or “crabs” might try pulling you back.

Physically they might not break your arms, but they might try to break your spirit. They might not kill you, but they might try to kill your dreams.

Sometimes it’s really easy to just let people pull you down. Sometimes you let them pull you down in fear of hurting their feelings or upsetting them in some way. As a person who has been in this situation many times in my life I know how hard it is to push through and pursue after what you want in spite of what other people think.

Coming from a background of people who tear others down, instead of building them up and celebrating their accomplishments, it was quite amazing to me to see everyone working as a team in my spin class.

Every person has a purpose. We all are meant for bigger, better, and greater things. And we all should follow our passions, our goals, our dreams, our desires, and everything that God has called us to.

The people around you have their own passions, purposes and callings. They might or might not have shared them with you, but if they do, what I encourage you to do is to not be the one that pulls them down and says, “If I can’t have it neither can you”.

Because if you support the people around you and support what they are doing, they will in turn support you, and celebrate you and the accomplishments that you have made.

Instead of having the crab mentality let’s have the God mentality.

I encourage you to love others and build them up.

You are worthy and capable of stepping out and pursuing the things God has placed in your heart!

Success is not a limited resource!

I would love to hear how you are finding community and relationships in your current season of life. Let me know in the comments section below.

Andrea