Pretend you are already enough. Keep nurturing that belief, accepting that wisdom, building from that foundation. You won’t have to pretend for too long.

Your self-talk shapes your experience of life: how you experience your experiences.

When you slow down the momentum of any negative thinking, you can better face your current reality with a clear mind, a full heart, and a fresh perspective that leaves room for something new and beautiful to work its way into your future.

Let’s try something.

For just this moment, imagine already being and having what you need — before you have the thing, the money, the job, the relationship, the family, the house, or the perfect circumstances.

For this breath, inhale the notion that you are already enough, whole, full of potential. You are the seed with everything it needs to grow. Develop your life from there. Let your wonder and curiosity and appreciation unfold. Let yourself expand from this place of knowing.

Look around you. Contemplate your connection to everything you see in nature.

Be humbled, surrounded by so much vitality, creativity, and intelligence. Be honored, knowing that you are part of everything you notice. As you look at nature with love, you may find it easier to look at yourself with love.

(This prompt is from a nature walking meditation that I shared in my new book, Sleep Rituals.)

Such a simple thing, but just taking a moment to practice new thought patterns that affirm self-worth and emulate hope sets you up for sustainable growth and a more joyful experience of the process. Everything is a process.

The roots of belonging and freedom are in your heart; the beauty you experience and show the world is a reflection and an extension of what's within you.

Take these notes and use them to summon your true nature (it’s compassionate and wise) and a vibrant future: it all starts here, in this moment, with the way you view, talk to, and treat yourself.

You Are Already Enough: Start Here

1. You improve when you know you’re already enough.

Self-acceptance is fuel for self-improvement — the honest, deep, important kind. Think of improving yourself as polishing yourself rather than changing who you are. At your core, you’re already enough. Start with that wisdom as your foundation before building your house (your life) on it.

“There is no calamity like not knowing what is enough.” — Tao Teh Ching

2. Your worth and belonging live inside your heart, not “out there” in the opinions and lives of others.

Brené Brown articulates this beautifully:

“Don’t walk through the world looking for evidence that you don’t belong, because you will always find it. Don’t walk through the world looking for evidence that you’re not enough, because you will always find it. Our worth and our belonging are not negotiated with other people. We carry those inside of our hearts.”

3. Acceptance lays the groundwork for sustainable change.

Every moment of self-acceptance is a victory and a step in the direction of an even more fulfilling life. From the inside out: this is how you expand into your most vibrant self and life.

4. The only person you need to be more like is you.

You weren’t born to be anything or anyone other than you. Release the fight to be what someone else is, to do what someone else has done. Embrace the wild heart you were born with.

“As you trade judgment {of yourself} for acceptance, your mind takes a break from chasing painful stories to a logical conclusion. It takes courage to show up like this. There is no healing practice like it.”

This quote is from my book, Sleep Rituals: 100 Practices for a Deep and Peaceful Sleep (which is really about taking care of yourself).

5. Self-acceptance is a practice, and so are you.

When you practice thought patterns that stem from the concept of your already being enough, you invite your fullest expression and well-being to blossom.

Dare to love yourself enough to enjoy the process that is your ever-evolving, always unfolding life.

. . .

Tell me:

What might change, how might you experience life differently, if you watered the roots of love, freedom, and fulfillment within?

Remember: it’s not weird to tell yourself nice things. It’s an emotionally intelligent thing to do. It’s grounds for a life that feels good and serves the greatest good.

All love,

Jen