Feel like You’re Falling Short? Remember These 3 Truths

“Because true belonging only happens when we present our authentic, imperfect selves to the world, our sense of belonging can never be greater than our level of self-acceptance.” ~ Brené Brown

Do you feel like you are living up to your potential?

Or do you feel like you are falling short?

Maybe you feel so discouraged, you’re on the brink of throwing in the towel. Worse, you feel worthless, especially when you compare yourself to your peers.

You try to be more mindful but continue to be short-tempered. When you’re paying attention to it, your short fuse is even more obvious.

You seek to stop being anxious and afraid of life only to be hit with some difficulty from left field that causes you to panic.

You try to be generous only to realize that you are more selfish than you realized.

You vow to exercise and eat right only to discover how hard it is to keep your commitments. So you pass judgment on yourself. You worry incessantly. You beat yourself up.

It’s enough to make you want to curl up in a ball and disappear. We put so much pressure on ourselves and each other to accomplish and achieve.

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with these things in themselves, but so many of us tie our sense of self-worth to the idea of success and achievement as a way of triumphing over self and others.

Even in the spiritual arena where we’re called to be egoless and generous, our ego natures can run rampant. So we continue to compete and strive. And when we don’t measure up, we attack ourselves and blame others.

If you’ve ever dared to attempt improving any area of your life, you know how easy it is to become disappointed and disillusioned.

When you do (and you will), remember these truths…

1. Your worth is intrinsic

Your worth is not dependent on any external measure of success whatsoever. This can be really hard to accept because our culture teaches us that if we cannot measure up, we don’t matter.

It’s just not true.

In the midst of pursuing, remember this powerful truth.

2. You’re not perfect (and it’s ok)

When you choose to embark on any self-improvement program, you’re actually deciding to face your imperfections head on—though you may not know that’s what you’re signing up for.

Many people sell self-improvement as some blissful enterprise where you’ll magically get rid of your shortcomings by following a few simple hacks.

They fail to tell you about the pain involved in coming face to face with yourself, with all your imperfections and shortcomings.

Most people use “self-improvement” to run away from themselves. The key insight here is that there’s nothing to run from. Besides, running away is impossible.

Accepting your imperfections is the path to breaking free from self-loathing.

3. You control the narrative

The negative feelings you experience can feel so real that it’s easy to let them go unchallenged.

But understand that these feelings are stories you’re telling yourself about your experiences. You have the power to change the story. You can change the narrative.

You can challenge the stories that vilify you. You can see yourself as someone on a journey that’s sometimes arduous, but worth the effort.

You’re not falling short

You’re just alive.

So stop beating yourself up and live. Acknowledge your worth. Live the imperfections. Write the story.

You are a precious gift to the world.