How often in our lives do we not do something because of the things we keep telling ourselves? How often do we tell ourselves we cannot do this or that because we are not good enough, smart enough, pretty enough, thin enough … enough at all? How often do we let the stories we have been telling ourselves for years stop us from doing something we likely would enjoy?

I recently saw something that said, “Underestimate me … that will be fun.” I then saw something that said, “Your only limit is you.” To some extent, that is true. What would you do today if you told yourself you are enough? What would happen if instead of telling yourself you are not good enough or do not deserve something, you told yourself you are good enough just the way you are?

What stories have you been telling yourself that keep you stuck where you are? So many times in my work, I see people who believe they are unworthy of love and belonging and understanding because they live with mental illness or substance use disorder or eating disorders. The story they have been telling themselves keeps them stuck in their illnesses. They put limits on themselves and their lives by staying stuck in the story that tells them they are not worthy of happiness, of a better life. What happens if instead of repeating that story, they start telling themselves they are worthy of happiness?

Who has been telling you that you are not worthy of love? Likely more than not it is not your family or friends. Perhaps that story developed in your mind because of childhood emotional neglect or abuse, but hopefully that is not the story people in your life are telling you now. Yet, we hold onto that story from our past that keeps us stuck in feelings of sorrow and sadness. Perhaps we do that because we feel it is easier to believe we are unworthy of love and belonging than it is to believe we are beautifully and wonderfully made and worthy of love and all life has to offer. What stories do you tell yourself that put limits on your life?

Perhaps it is time to start telling yourself a new story, one where you are worthy of happiness and love and belonging and a life worth living. Perhaps it is time to stop putting limits on your own life. You deserve to be happy. You deserve to be loved simply because you are a human being. Start telling yourself that and a whole new world will open up to you. Your only limit is you. Time to get out of your own way.