“Why am I not enough? Will I ever be?”

How many times have you asked yourself those questions? Maybe you were sitting at your desk, holding back tears after making another mistake. Maybe you were rejected or disrespected. Maybe you were out with your friends trying to forget about the breakup you didn’t see coming. Or maybe you were lying in bed alone, trying to escape the depths of your own mind but never really finding the answers to your questions.

I am here to tell you that it is time you forgive. Forgive yourself for not being enough.

Maybe the problem isn’t with you. It’s not that you’re not enough, but that someone is too much.

Maybe you tried so hard to save someone and in the end you learned that you weren’t enough. They have to want to be saved, and participate in their own rescue. So forgive yourself for not being enough.

Forgive yourself for not being enough for someone to hold on to. If you are not enough for them, let them go. The right person won’t have to “handle” you, they will just know, and so will you.

Forgive yourself for not being enough to achieve your dream right now. You are enough. You have it in you and you will get there. Don’t compare yourself to everyone else, just be you and that will be enough.

Forgive yourself for not being enough for the expectations that were put on you by society. Everyone is fighting a battle and yours is no less important. Whether it’s an internal battle, a medical issue, or with another person, forgive yourself.

Forgive yourself for not being enough to make someone happy. Happiness is fleeting and everyone finds it in different things, whether we like it or not. You are not responsible for anyone else’s happiness but your own.

Forgive yourself for not being enough for someone to treat you with respect. That is not a reflection of you, but of them. Because you are more than enough to be treated with respect.

Forgive yourself for not having enough in you to keep fighting. Everyone breaks sometimes. You have held on to this burden for far too long, and that in itself is enough.

Forgive yourself for not being put together enough, confident enough, pretty enough. For not being the perfect spouse, friend, co-worker.

You are enough. For the person who will stay. For the person who will help you when you fall. For the person who will love you despite your shortcomings. Most importantly, believe that you are enough for you.

So the next time you feel like crying at your desk, or you’re disrespected, or you’re out with your friends, or you’re just lying in bed alone wondering why you aren’t enough, or if you will ever be, forgive yourself. Because once you are able to forgive yourself for not being enough, you let go of the power it has over you, and suddenly you remember, you are enough.