In Michelle Obama’s book, Becoming, her recurring theme is a feeling that she is ‘not enough’. How great is it that an achiever like Michelle Obama has the same insecurities all of us do and that she is willing to use her platform to share. She describes all of us.
Sometimes when I look at someone’s Instagram feed, I think about how perfect that person is. And I wish I had a quarter of that confidence. They are putting up great content about themselves and showcasing curated aspects of their lives. I think if that is helpful to us as we post, then that is great. From my point of view, I love that people are willing to share their lives with me. But life does not look like Instagram.
If you ever ask this question of yourself about are you enough, I’d like to just give you the answer: you are enough.
Let’s take a dive into what being enough looks like.
1. First, our physical plant; our bodies. We have what it takes to do what we set out to do. Our bodies are with us in trying to achieve the goals we have for it. Health, wellness, getting us from A to B, lulling us into sleep at night and waking us up in the morning. We may have a debilitating disease or condition and our body is still fighting with us all along the way to mitigate and work around and help us be strong.
We were also born in a day and age where medical interventions are getting better all the time, so that is a big assist to our physical plant too.
We can always help our bodies through movement and nourishment and healthy thoughts. What a team!
2. We have minds that think and hang out with us all the time. Our minds can take us anywhere. I grew up in Halifax, Nova Scotia, a beautiful city on the east coast of Canada. Right now, while I’m talking to you, even though I am very far away from there, I can send my mind to Spring Garden Road and look across at the Public Gardens. How amazing!
Our minds can also trick us into thinking that we aren’t enough. Not sure why that is a burden we bear, but it is what it is. When that happens, we do the things that help us out of that trap. Perhaps we go for a walk or a run, we reach out to best friends, we read a book we love, we watch a show. The key is don’t believe your mind. Tell it that you are the boss of it and practice self-understanding and self-compassion. This may take a lifetime, but it is all progress. Each tiny step is progress. Strive to have your mind be the best friend that you deserve.
3. We are learning machines! Every day all day, we are taking in constant stimulation and digesting and translating what it means to be us. If we are what we think, we most definitely are what we choose to learn. All the options are open to us. We learn from books, school, friends, family, strangers, podcasts, blogs, and the universe. It gets to be up to us where we take all that.
4. We have ways to seek help and assistance. Working towards a synergistic relationship between mind and body may mean reaching out for help. We can do that. We can reach out for help in all directions if we feel that we don’t have that synergy. Every day I talk with people of such courage and bravery, who strive all the time to be the person they want to be. The great thing is they don’t have to be alone in this journey.
Pro tip:
Examine this moment, is it working for you? Do you feel strong? Do you feel that this moment is a good moment? Are most moments good when you’re in them? If the balance skews towards bad moments, remember, you are the boss of you and you’ve got what it takes to reach out.
We are enough. In all our mixed-upness, in all the chaos that it means to be human, we are enough. You are enough.
Is there a topic you would like to see covered for yourself, for your friend, for your family member?
Contact me at jdanyluk@fordkeasthrc.ca.
London, Canada