I admit it, I am a “talent show junkie” - American Idol, America’s Got Talent, X-Factor, you name it.

Last week, I was watching X-Factor and caught the audition of 16-year-old Jazzlyn Little. While the audition was inspiring, there is still part of me that hurts for this young girl.

Here’s why.

When you watch the lead-in to her audition, you see a girl who is riddled with nerves and insecurity. You can hear her talking to herself, reminding herself, “Relax. Relax. Relax.” She asks herself (audibly), “What if I mess up?”

You then see her talking to her mother, saying, “I don’t want to let you guys down.”

She continues, “There’s so much stress in real life. Peer pressure. Having to fit in. Being judged… singing’s an escape from reality. I can be anyone I want to be.”

Then the sentence that has been stuck in my head for almost a week…

“I don’t have to be me.”

She takes to the stage almost unable to speak because of her nerves.

Simon Cowell begins to question Jazzlyn and asks if she has posted any videos on YouTube. She says she uploaded one video, but admits that only about 500 people have watched it. Simon, wanting to know why so few people watched the video, asks her, “Do you think it was you or the song?” 

She responded, “Me. I think.”

Then, she sings.

Jazzlyn received a standing ovation for her performance and incredible words of encouragement from the judges.

Yet, as she leaves the stage, she confides, “For the first time in my life, being on that stage and having everyone clap for me, I really did feel truly accepted.”

I hope truly hope Jazzlyn finds herself and her confidence through the process of the show, that she accepts herself above all else.

How about you? Are you constantly seeking the approval of others for validation? Do you fully embrace who you are? Which gifts are you withholding from the world because of fear?

Most of us - probably all of us - have a desire to live a life that “matters,” a life of significance. What that means varies by person, but there is an innate calling in each of us, a little voice that stirs inside and prompts us to “do something significant.”

Sadly, however, most of us manage to talk ourselves out of it. We say things to ourselves like, “Who am I? I’m nobody? Who would listen to me?”

Or, we simply make excuses for why we can’t like “I don’t have enough time, money, celebrity, connections, personality, (fill in the blank) to do anything significant.” Sometimes we even disguise our excuses as “wishes:”

• I wish I had enough money to…
• I wish I was famous, so I could…
• I wish I could…

Why do we do this?

We hear stories about people who have overcome HUGE obstacles to persevere or who have risked life and limb for a cause they believe in. Somehow, we just can’t see ourselves as that person. We feel so… insignificant.

It ultimately boils down to this: We confuse “big” or “newsworthy” or “dangerous” with “significant.”

We somehow believe that if what we do doesn’t warrant an hour-long Dateline special, it isn’t significant. Nothing could be further from the truth. The smallest act, the seemingly most insignificant one you can think of - smiling at someone, for example - could alter the course of a life forever.

In the book Soul Cravings (affiliate link), author Erwin McManus tells the story of Anna, who was ready to call it quits, to take her own life, because she felt so insignificant. It’s clearly the extreme, but it conveys an important message.

She couldn’t think of one more reason to live. In that moment, she decided to call out to God one last time - one of those gauntlets. “If you have anything to say about this, God, speak now or forever hold your peace.”

She didn’t know her cell phone was on. There had been no good reason to take it with her. No one ever called. And suddenly it rang - an unexpected call. Someone needed her, had been looking for her, was wondering where she was, what she was doing. How could she end her life that day? There was something for her to do. Someone needed her. She had a reason to live. It doesn’t take much to keep us wanting to live - just a little hope.

A phone call. It changed Anna’s life forever. It was significant. Incredibly significant. But, I can promise you that the person who placed that call thought absolutely nothing of it.

It reminds me of a quote by Keith Cunningham that I have hanging by my desk.

Ordinary things consistently done produce extraordinary results.

The things you see as “ordinary” - like making a phone call to someone you haven’t spoken to in awhile - could be extraordinarily significant. The magnitude of your significance will be determined by the consistency of your actions.

What “ordinary” or “insignificant” actions will you take today? Do you believe that those acts will ultimately prove to be significant? Why? Why not? As always, I’d love to hear from you.