What Does It Mean To Be “Not Enough”?

How many of you have ever experienced this notion of feeling like you’re “𝙉𝙤𝙩 𝙚𝙣𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝…”

𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩
𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩
𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩
𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩
𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩
𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩
𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩

Are you constantly judging yourself and thinking that somehow you should be more, do more, be better…and you just don’t seem to measure up in your own mind?

Would you believe me if I told you these thoughts all stem from a similar limiting belief that you’ve subconsciously been reinforcing since you were single-digit years old?

𝗪𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗻 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗲 — 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗮 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝗯𝗶𝘁, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗲.

Life experiences and emotions create that sense within us in a variety of creative ways. For example, when we were little and we felt afraid or anxious, our mind told us something was wrong with us, not with our environment. A child’s mind, not yet rational, decides, “𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘴𝘰 𝘣𝘢𝘥” or “𝘐 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘐’𝘮 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘥𝘭𝘺.”

As adults we understand that the feeling “𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙚𝙣𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝” is a result of an environment that was insufficient and has nothing to do with us. You are always enough!

Now, there are a lot of things we can do to overcome this feeling of inadequacy, but the first step is to become aware of it. Here are 4 more steps to move forward more powerfully.

𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁, start by validating and feeling into your accomplishments. Learn to start spending more time experiencing positive feelings and gratitude instead of listening to your inner critic. Stop and think about what you like about yourself, maybe even write it down.

𝗦𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱, stop comparing yourself to anyone else. The people you compare yourself to compare themselves to other people too. Nobody is perfect, we all look at things differently, and are all on the same journey of overcoming the same universal challenges. Switch your lens to compassion and understanding when viewing others.

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗱, learn to fully accept and make peace with the “now” before you can reach and feel satisfied with the “later.” You’re here for a reason. Embrace and make peace with where you are, and your journey toward something new will feel much more peaceful, rewarding, and satisfying.

𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁𝗵, focus on making progress rather than achieving perfection. Think more about how far you’ve come rather than how far you have left to go. What we don’t seem to realize is that working toward our goals and being willing to put ourselves out there are accomplishments within themselves, regardless of how many times we fail.

One of the magical things about our brains is that we have the ability to change and tweak how we are thinking on a moment by moment basis. We have the ability to adjust our expectations, and to consciously choose more empowering thoughts.

It’s impossible to feel perfect at every moment of every day, but it starts with making peace with who you are now, while working to become a better version of yourself.

I hope this helped whoever needed to hear it!

~Wishing you success!