Allow Yourself To Be Enough—Just As You Are 🤍
You are an important piece of this world.
Welcome to the Collective World X Thought Catalog Newsletter. Collective World is a one-of-a-kind creative network powered by the minds and voices behind The Thought & Expression Company. We’re so glad you’re here.
You’ve heard it before, but I’ll say it again: We are our own worst critics.
It’s easy for us to look at ourselves and see only what’s missing, what’s wrong, what’s broken. It’s easy to think that if only we worked harder, or were smarter, or were prettier, or were more charming, then maybe life would be a little easier. It’s easy for us to feel like we’ll never measure up.
When we feel like this, we tend to look to others for validation. We want to believe that maybe someone can see the things in us that we can’t see in ourselves. The problem is, though, when we do this, we’re suddenly giving someone power over the way we feel about ourselves—and when we do that, we open ourselves up to disappointment, codependency, and sometimes even manipulation.
The good news, though, is that we have the power to fight back against that. It’s as simple as this: You allow yourself to be enough—right now, exactly as you are.
You can learn to fight the critical thoughts and negative self-talk. You can show yourself compassion when you fail. You can give yourself grace when you screw up, no matter how badly. And you should. Because no one is perfect, but you are enough.
In the words of Holly Riordan, “You have worth, even when you feel unloved and unsuccessful, even when you feel lost and lonely. You are an important piece of this world.”
It doesn’t matter how many likes you get on Instagram. You are enough.
It doesn’t matter if you don’t get the job you were interviewing for. You are enough.
It doesn’t matter if you’ve been single for longer than you ever thought you’d be. You are enough.
And you know what? It doesn’t matter if your life doesn’t look exactly like you thought it would, because you are enough.
Because here’s the secret: Nothing, and I mean nothing, can ever take away your worth. It was bestowed upon you at birth and will remain inherently for the rest of your life. It is your birthright and your legacy. And when we forget about that, we begin to let external factors control our lives.
Whenever you find yourself looking to others to validate your worth, remember these words by Morgan Mason: “As we are all with our own faults, our own imperfections, and our own fears, does that not seem a bit backwards to look for this approval through someone else who is equally uncertain, scared, and fearful of their own place in this ever-changing world? Does it not seem a tad crazy to put all this weight on each other?”
So, on the bad days, look in the mirror and tell yourself, “I am enough.” Even if you don’t believe it immediately, as long as you keep repeating it to yourself, you will someday. Because it is more than just a mantra—it is your truth.
What We’re Reading This Week 📖💛
“When you let yourself feel devastated and forgive yourself for it, hope seeps in.” — Heather Havrilesky
“The tropes we were fed as young women about power and beauty were taken as proof for how the world worked.” — Sarah Hagi
“It’s like how we struggle to come up with a word more applicable, less trite, for how we feel than ‘love,’ but we can’t — it’s all we have, and so here we are.” — Megan Koester
“I think emotional abuse needs to be recognized as violence. It’s domestic violence, and it’s deadly.” — Stephanie Land
“One thing I think a lot of people don’t understand about sadness, or about numbness, is that while it’s certainly not enjoyable it is comfortable, and there is a certain pleasure to be found in familiar aches.” — John Paul Brammer
“maybe i loved you / maybe you were just another car i went running into.” — Natalia Vela
For more reading recommendations follow Quote Catalog where we find and file the best things to read every single day.
Let us leave you with this:
“Stop fixating on where everyone else is,
and try to give yourself permission
to be exactly where you are.
Quiet the voice telling you to do more and be more,
and trust that in this moment, who you are, where you’re at,
and what you are doing is enough.” — Daniell Koepke
Remember: You are always, always, always enough. Never give anyone the power to convince you otherwise 💕
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This seems like it would be true for all people, but it’s not. It’s just not. Some people have failed in ways that are unacceptable. Unforgivable. Mothers who fail their children. Coming back from that one isn’t possible. There is nothing worse than failing your children. Living after doing that is torture. In fact it isn’t living at all. It’s merely existing and waiting to not have to exist anymore. There is no forgiveness of self. No joy. No hope. No.