So many of us constantly berate ourselves for the shortcomings we perceive in ourselves.

I do it all the time.

Not every day though which is kind of annoying to be honest.

There are days when I think “I am doing life well”. Some days I feel like I’m fit, driven, capable and doing a good job. I get convinced that I’m doing this self-love thing really well but then all of a sudden, this familiar voice creeps in.

“Maybe you’re getting too big”

“You’ve gone backwards”

“You’re not good enough”

These kinds of thoughts tend to come to mind because I’ve forgotten that I’m more than my ability to shape my body and achieve things. I get stuck in a head space that picks out all the things I feel like I’m not good enough at.

I am the most at peace when I am kind to myself. We all are. I’m the happiest when I am gentle, breathe deeply and enjoy the present moment. I know this yet I still end up getting really caught up in my head and make myself feel like I suck.

If you’re anything like me, you’ve developed all these habits and methods of thought that hinder you. They stop you from feeling calm and positive. The thoughts are overwhelming and once they start it’s like a downward spiral. I end up thinking “oh no, it’s happening!” and off I go to negative-town.

Imagine, if every time you went to tell yourself you weren’t small enough, weren’t strong enough, weren’t skilled enough, that you needed to be more dedicated to your diet, a bit leaner, that you needed to become better at doing XYZ, that you needed to be XYZ to be more attractive or more acceptable or more worthy you stopped and told yourself you were enough.

Such a radical idea.

“I am already enough. In every way, I am enough”

“I already have all I need for happiness”

“I like myself just as I am”

Simply taking the thought that tells you that you’re not good enough – noting it – and responding with “actually, that’s wrong. There’s no truth in that. I am good enough, just as I am”. Identifying that negative thought patterns that come over you and I are just a habit we’ve adopted, the thoughts aren’t truths.

The negative thought patterns actually stand in the way of us reaching our full potential. There’s no pride in dragging around self-loathing. Nobody thinks bigger of you because you put yourself down.

Consider this, do you think on the day of your funeral your loved ones are going to stand up and announce to everyone the things that you worry about everyday? Do you think they’re going to stand up there and say “Bec stayed at her goal weight her entire life, she always ate healthy and stayed on track with her diet, she told herself she wasn’t good enough and always felt like she wasn’t achieving big enough things. She lived her life with restraint due to the incessant voice of her mind.” I bloody well hope not.

I don’t want to waste my energy on telling myself I’m not good enough. You have the power to do the same. Allowing yourself to be good enough lies in your hands – nobody else’s.

Achieving those big, scary, amazing life goals is a lot easier, a lot more rewarding, a lot more enjoyable when you can say “yeah you know what, I’m enough. Wholly and completely. I am all I need to be.”