I’m going to propose something radical to you: What if you were enough? Right now, as is—completely enough. Really think about this. I want you to stop whatever it is you are doing, take a few seconds right now, sit quietly and try to imagine what that would feel like. Go ahead, I’ll wait.
How did you do? Did you feel a deep sense of peace in your skin? A peace that was simple, yet profound at the same time. Or did you close your eyes and start making a list of what you needed to do to get there? A list of all the things you’d want to change about yourself; your hair, your weight, your skin, your cellulite, your life? Or could your brain not fathom the true meaning of you already being enough? In truth, that was my experience. Me, being completely enough? As is? In a world that benefits from us having low self-esteem, how could anyone truly feel that they are enough?
Sadly, especially as women, we have been conditioned to not like ourselves. We are bombarded with images of thin, cute, skinny, all-American—a formula of what beauty and happiness is supposed to look like. With the added pressure of social media, showing us glossy, edited photos of perfect lives, we are made to feel even less-than. Then we have the pressure of the new, booming, overly saturated wellness industry, telling us that we are enough BUT only when we drink matcha, meditate, do CBD body scrubs, work out obsessively and put ashwagandha on everything. The list of what we should be doing, and buying, from every direction, to be happy, beautiful and more importantly “glowing” has become an endless road to true fulfillment. Right?
Feeling fulfilled yet?
I’m not suggesting self-improvement is a bad thing. What I am suggesting is that you take a look at where your need for self-improvement stems from. Is it a reflection of the information imposed on you from the outside world or does it come from within? More importantly, is it really needed?
At this time of year, when everyone is putting their New Year’s resolutions in place, I ask you to add one more to the list. Anytime you criticize yourself, on any front, stop and say, I am enough. Anytime you reach to buy something to make you feel or look better, take a beat and say, I am enough. My hope is that if you say it every time it might start to sink in. I AM ENOUGH. That you, and you alone, flaws and all, are enough. That there is nothing outside yourself that you need. Nothing outside yourself to make you whole and no lotion or potion that will ever help you glow brighter than self-acceptance. This is radical self-care. This year, let’s get radical. Who’s in?