When do you decide that you’re good enough?
Are you only satisfied with yourself when you’ve reached the goal you set for yourself? Maybe you finally lost those (fill in the blank) pounds. Or you gave that presentation at work. Or you finished making that craft project you’ve been working on for years.
You pat yourself on the back because, hallelujah!, you’re done!
Think about this with me for a minute: If we’re only satisfied with ourselves when we’ve reached a goal — there’s an awful lot of time when we’re dissatisfied with ourselves.
And that’s just wrong thinking.
We defeat ourselves before we’ve even begun.
We set a goal for ourselves — wanting to accomplish something positive — but we’re already frustrating our efforts because we’re discounting one of the key elements to success: us.
I love the call to action in today’s quote:
- the challenge to appreciate myself for even wanting to change before I’ve done any changing
- the challenge to allow myself to be good enough
Needing to change isn’t a reason to feel bad about myself. No. I can be proud that I’m ready to move forward, to change. I can concentrate on the good about me — not turn a goal, a decision to change, or a challenge I’m facing, into a reason to bash myself.
In Your Words: How do you motivate yourself to change? In what ways do you embrace being good enough?
When are you good enough? Click to Tweet
Motivation to Change: Appreciate Yourself Click to Tweet
Comments 17
I don’t think I’ll ever be good enough–as in finished. But that doesn’t stop me. I go ahead and do whatever it is anyway, figuring I’ll learn what I need to know along the way. Great post.
Important point. One helpful thing I’ve learned as a teacher is to break down full-year goals into small pieces so students can achieve satisfying bits of progress success daily. That’s important and I know how to do that scholastically. Now, to break that principle down into daily writing goals . . .
Beth what a true post. I think there are different levels of “good enough.” Before I married, I didn’t want to settle for “good enough,” in a guy. I wanted God’s best for me.
BUT, in the case of who I am and who God is growing me into, there is a place for “good enough.” I like the idea of being content with where I am today. And being receptive to the changes God is working in me. I’m learning to embrace who God has made me to be, and the path He has for me to walk. When I let Him do the leading, it’s easier to face the changes He’s working within me.
Good post!
A lot of Christian thinking is implicitly goal-oriented, with the opposite side of the coin being “I am unworthy, I am unclean, I am unfit to look on Jesus’ face.”
Implication being – I will be fit someday, but in the meantime it’s sackcloth and ashes, and could someone pass the worms?
A lot of that is taken from John the Baptist’s comment that he’s unfit to loosen Jesus’ sandal strap. If JB’s that bad…how much worse are we?
Point is, we are good enough, in the present moment, to look God in the eye. We’re His children, and what Father would want a child to feel so horrible about him or herself that their eyes were always cast down and away?
Sure, we have goals, and horizons we’d like to reach, both spiritually and temporally. But Where we are NOW is the point from where we start tomorrow’s journey, and it’s the goal we reached from yesterday’s.
Not to think of it as Good Enough is profoundly ungrateful to He who helped us reach it.
Beth, so many truths spoken with grace here today. Our battles are often won or lost in our mind before they ever play out in real life. Attitude and strapping on the armor of God are absolutely necessary to be victorious.
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Donna, thank you for mentioning strapping on the armor of God. Such an important reminder.
This is good stuff, Beth. I am the hardest on myself. Learning to know that God sees my heart, He also sees the end product, and when I’m working toward that, I know he’s pleased. That, is good enough:)
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God does see our hearts. He sees our longings, our desire to do well, to be kind and caring and compassionate — even when we fall short. And he offers us grace, lavish grace — in the process. In the moment.
Ahh, this is good, Beth. I’m in the midst of a couple really big goals right now and I have this somewhat achiever type personality that does make it hard to be satisfied with myself until I’ve reached whatever goal. But I don’t want to spend all that in-between time discontent and frustrated and focusing so much on the end goal that I don’t enjoy the process of getting there. I was just texting with a friend about this today with regard to writing–how sometimes I just so badly want to finish writing a book that I forget to enjoy actually writing it.
I’m reminded of a postcard-size image I have on my fridge–which I got from you–that has the quote “Let whatever you do today be enough.” 🙂
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🙂 I admit, that quote is one of my favorites.
I’m not good enough. Not alone, anyway. It’s only because Christ saved me that I’m anywhere near good enough. Because of His sacrifice, His love, He made me good and acceptable to God. He makes me good enough, and for that I’m thankful.
When I’m working towards a goal, I take pride in the steps of progress along the way, not just in reaching the ultimate goal. When I doubt myself or don’t make as much progress as I would have liked, it makes me a bit sad, but I also realize that my lack of progress doesn’t make me a bad person. I’m a good person, and I tried my best. That fact brings satisfaction, and I smile.
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Great perspective, Andrea. Freeing perspective. Truth.
Thanks. It’s something God taught me, so I’m not surprised it sounds freeing. That’s what He aims for with me. 🙂
“Think about this with me for a minute: If we’re only satisfied with ourselves when we’ve reached a goal — there’s an awful lot of time when we’re dissatisfied with ourselves.
And that’s just wrong thinking.”
Well said. Enough said.
Time for some right-thinking.
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Agreed, Dave! Here’s to right-thinking!
Having grown up in a atmosphere of “you can always do better,” these words are a salve to my heart. I’ve got the same postcard as Melissa, “Let whatever you do today be enough” posted beside my chair. Thanks for the encouragement, every day.
I’ve been straightening out this kind of thinking for a while now. I’m getting better and better at believing I’m good enough … right where I am, doing exactly what I’m doing at the moment. And I’m believing it about others too. Good stuff!