Everyone has always told me that I was smart. I’ve always made good grades. I skipped the 11th grade and graduated from both high school and college with honors. I published my first book at 25. People tell me day in and day out how much I inspire me. I know I’m good. The question is:
Am I good enough?
Pause, because our mouths can sometimes be accustomed to spitting out what our ears want to hear prior to even registering the question. Are you good enough? Before answering that, answer this:
If you filled in the blank, then it’s time to explore the who, what, when, where, and how of what led to you to doubt whether or not you were good enough.
- Who have I allowed into my inner circle (friends/family)? Who am I listening to? Who am I comparing myself to?
- What am I doing to make myself believe that I’m not good enough? What am I saying? What am I thinking? What have I not yet let go of? What am I afraid of?
- When did all of this begin? When do I plan to change this?
- Where am I in my journey of fulfilling my purpose?
- How do I spend my time? How do I plan to discover that I am enough (minus any outside validation)?
Now, let’s get back to what you filled the blank in with. What would it take to achieve that? Does it require more money? Does it require you to release something (or someone) from your life? Does it call for further education? Does it demand courage?
Money, as usual, is a big one. If you were raised anything like me, then you grew up associating money with negativity. It was claimed to be the root of all evil. It allegedly came between friends and family. It caused people to change and/or become selfish. It couldn’t buy happiness. Etc.
Allow yourself to want to be rich.
Remember those core classes in college? The ones that you had to take before moving onto the courses for your major? Well, this permission to want to more money is core class for having it; it’s a prerequisite.
Money is not the root of all evil. Negative personality traits are. It didn’t come between friends and family, their behavior did. It doesn’t cause people to change or become selfish; their beliefs did. Money can’t buy happiness? Let’s be for real.
If money is not your bridge from here to there, then explore what is. Strike up a two-way dialogue between yourself and God. Do this by praying (talking) and meditating (listening).
Comments
3 responses to “You’re Good, But Are You Good Enough?”
I loved this article. It really goes to show that no matter how much you have achieved on paper, your intrinsic value is not based on those things. Although achievements are great, they certainly don’t define our character! Great read!
Exactly. It’s not based on what you see or what you’re told, but what you believe. I struggled with that for the longest.
Amazing. Great questions to answer.