"I am Enough"

I chose this particular statement because it is something that I have to remind myself every day. It’s hard to talk about because it is a deeply personal thing to show someone how your brain works. My brain is always comparing myself to others, and highlighting my shortcomings.

Let me tell you about the teacher next door to me. She is the perfect language arts teacher. She is well read, well spoken, and makes relationships with kids like you wouldn’t believe. She is liked by everyone including students, teachers, and especially administration. She always seems to know what to say in a meeting or when I am having a bad day. She never seems to have a bad day or a bad lesson. She is outgoing and makes any task look easy.

While this might sound like a jealous rant, it really is just a collection of thoughts I have about her on a daily basis. I consider her my best friend and sometimes it is hard to be friends with someone who is so perfect. These thoughts come to me as an internal dialogue of my shortcomings. I look at her and wonder why I can’t have the skills she has. Logically, I know that all of these things are not true. Outside perceptions hardly ever match reality and I know better than to make assumptions. But my head tells me that she is perfect and I am not and if I could just be more like her then I would be better.

In order for me to survive all of these negative thoughts that I have on a daily basis about myself I have adopted the phrase “I am enough” as a mantra. I try to remind myself of that you can’t let the negative thoughts take over. I have a lot of students that struggle with body image issues or self-confidence and I share with them that I too struggle with these things. We have to control the dialogue inside of our heads and stop comparing ourselves with others because it is much easier to point out your own flaws than point out the flaws of others.

We are enough.