You Are Enough

You know that feeling that no matter what or how much you do, it will never be enough for some people? What happens when that “some people” is you?

We have a tendency to put a lot of pressure on ourselves to do all the things. But how realistic is it? And are we expecting more of ourselves than we would reasonably expect of others? Probably. And how is that okay?

Most of us put pressure on ourselves that others never would. Pressure to be perfect, to do all the things, to live up to others’ expectations. Or worse, to live up to our own.

Recently I’ve been reading a lot of books where the MCs (main characters) run through this gamut of perfection, and I’m seeing a trend.  They start off trying to be the perfect everything. They put on a pretty face and attack the world with false bravado and lots of chutzpah, but then they go home and crumble.  Of course, they need to find someone in their lives that sees them for who they are, but they never show anyone that side, so how can they ever find that someone?

I’m not looking for a relationship partner to be perfect for anymore. Dog knows The Hubster has seen all my good bad and ugly over the last 32 years.  But I still try my damnedest to put that face on for everyone else. And it’s exhausting, y’all!

At some point in the novel, be it romcom, small town, whatever, the MC decides enough is enough—or someone or something decides it for them—and then the other MC swoops in to show them just how valuable they are in all their mess. 

So when do we do that for each other?

When do we ALLOW (because, make no mistake, you have to allow this to happen) others to help us see the true reflection of who we are? When do we accept that what we do and who we are is enough? Or when do we allow others to help us become what we want to be. And what we want others to see?

I am not even going to pretend to have all the answers, but I am going to invite and encourage you to listen to your tribe. When they tell you, “you are enough,” listen to them. And don’t hold back from telling others that you see them. That you value them. That they are doing an amazing job and are enough. That adding one more thing on their plate will not make them “more” worthy. That removing things from their basket will not diminish who they are or how valuable they are in your life, in their community, in the grand sense of all the things. 

Romance thrives on the HEA. Isn’t it about time the community embraced that and recognized how valuable we all are to it.