Note: This post first appeared on Life After College in December of 2008. I normally don't re-post, but the topic came up during a coaching call today and I felt compelled to share this post again (especially since many of you may not have seen it the first time). The bottom line: Enough with the voices in your head. Enough worrying about whether you measure up. I want to remind us all take a moment today to appreciate what we have and how far we have already come. We...you...are all enough. And then some.
Breathe in and say, "What I have is enough." Breathe out and think, "What I am is enough." Breathe in and say, "What I do is enough." Breathe out and think, "What I have achieved is enough." -Barbara Ann Kipfer
If I gave you a dollar for every time you thought yourself "not good enough" in some way, how much money would you have earned last week? Last year? In your lifetime?
From my observations, there are three kinds of "enoughs." Materialistic - money, things, possessions; Relationships - friends, family, significant other; and Personal - success, looks, smarts, etc. All of the examples in these lists could go on forever. And it's possible I'm missing a category entirely.
What seems a common thread to me is the (at times persistent) nagging thoughts that we all experience around the concept of "enough." I mentioned this briefly in my post titled "You Already Have Everything You Need," where the bottom line was to stop delaying your dreams or your happiness until some future state of perfection - that you already have all of the skills, resources and talent you need.
There's a lot of buzz in the personal-growth genre about the concept of being present. Books like Power of Now, Wherever You Go There You Are, and Mindfulness all point to the importance of being awake to your life. Enjoying the present moment because it's all you have. If you are constantly longing for the past of waiting for the future, your entire life will be spent - well, longing or waiting. Joy is fleeting if we don't stop to appreciate where we are now, and remember that who we are and where we are is enough.
So instead of waiting for the future - for some future state where you suddenly have enough or are enough, be the future. Live and embody it; act as though it were here. It is. There is no there, or better state. Make the most of this one - it is right where you should be - and the only place that's real.