The "I AM ENOUGH" flag is flown in pretty much every self-help sky out there.
But when you say it, do you really believe it? I mean deep in your core believe it?
Or is it more like: "I AM ENOUGH. Hmmmm....I wish I believed that. And it sounds like I'm supposed to believe that. Shit! What is wrong with me that I can't believe that?!"
And then you feel even less than ENOUGH!
This well intentioned mantra backfires in a big way.
Here is the thing:
We don't feel like we are enough because we are programmed to view our "enough-ness" based on the external world around us:
How many friends we have.
How fit we are.
How relaxed we are.
How hardworking we are.
How much money we bring in.
How 'woke' we are.
What we have accumulated: educational and professional accolades, houses/vacation properties, cars, luxury items and 'toys', travels, etc...
What our next step is going to be (heaven forbid we be simply content with what is!).
How we look to all those people out there.
When our enough-ness is based on these pressures - pressures that we put upon ourselves via conditioned thinking - we will NEVER truly believe: I AM ENOUGH.
The conditioned point of life is to never be enough so that you keep on striving. That I AM ENOUGH statement is contrary to what we are conditioned to believe the point of living is: Keep going, keep accumulating! Never be satisfied!
Because, holy shit, what if you did it.
What if you stopped.
Does your brain not go to: "I will have given up. There would be no point to life if I just stopped trying to be enough. Fuck. I will never be enough."
This leads to:"I will never feel fulfilled", does it not?
A feeling that you will never truly accept who you are for who you are.
I WILL NEVER BE ENOUGH.
Signed up for life of trying to keep up, or at the very least maintain,
the struggle of enough-ness. I will never be satisfied.
Where is the finish line? When would the striving for enough-ness stop? With this mentality could it ever stop?
So where did the well intentioned mantra that was kind of shoved down our throats A LOT (and still is) come from?! What is its point?
How do I stop my eyes from rolling every time I see it and my heart from sinking because I will never feel: I AM ENOUGH?
I can't pinpoint the exact time and specific place that it came from, but I can say that it came from the space of someone's AUTHENTIC SELF in the attempts to share some wisdom with you. It then, unfortunately, became nothing but a meme, a t-shirt, and a sound bite.
Within your AUTHENTIC SELF you are compassion. You are understanding. You are love. You are gratitude. You are already all of these wonderful things. There is no striving to be them. There is no ladder to climb. There is no racetrack to run on. There is no pile of things to accumulate to prove your enough-ness here.
You are already complete. YOU ARE ENOUGH.
We just forget that every now and then :)
The 'nows' and 'thens' are when we get lost in the striving for 'enough-ness' based on our conditioning. Our misplaced beliefs that we need to prove ourselves worthy of.......um....what are we trying to prove again?
When you really think about it - are we not striving to be the best versions of ourselves?
And what does that mean to you?
To be as kind as possible? As patient as possible? To live as peaceful of a life as possible? As giving as possible? To love and be loved as much as possible? To appreciate life as much as possible? To feel complete and secure in ourselves as much as possible? To live a life filled with love, peaceful and tender moments, laughter and tears, joy and gratitude? To feel like you have given of yourself, made a difference, fulfilled a deep in your soul purpose?
In the space of your AUTHENTIC SELF, you already have all of those wonderful things going on. You just need to keep reminding yourself of it.
You need to come back to the knowing that you are all of that, and always will be.
And that, my friend, is you being beautifully, outstandingly ENOUGH.
And living the deeply fulfilling life you desire.
Therefore, you are living the life that you have been told can only be lived by striving for more externally. Nope. You won't find it out there.
Go inside you and see your enough-ness.
Yes, work to pay the bills and have some fun with sailing your boat and vacationing on the beach and driving the new cars!
But, remind yourself that these things aren't what define your enough-ness.
They enhance the outside world to be sure, but they do not define you.
Go out there and get your degrees and your promotions, and your shiny things for your nest! But do so without the belief that this will prove your enough-ness.
Your true enough-ness is in you already and you are GOLDEN and SOLID there!
You are complete just as you are in your AUTHENTIC SELF.
(add a big, relaxing sigh of relief here, people)
I know you already know this stuff, and that is more proof that you are enough. It is already inside you - this wise understanding of life and who you are - it's just that sometimes you need the reminder. That is why I am here (and that is why the good intentioned soul started the I AM ENOUGH thing, it just needs more explanation!)
For the next week or so, repeat the mantra:
AS MY AUTHENTIC SELF, I AM ENOUGH.
See how that feels.
Let's check back in after xo