A few years ago, out walking with a friend, I was lamenting about body parts not being in their full, up-right position. In the midst of our laughter, my senior self said to me “Honey, I’d give my pinky toe for your derrière.”
Instead of hearing this fact with sober desperation, it filled me with appreciation. This is as good as it’s going to get and dang if it ain’t good enough!
Reality is not black and white but every color in between. Each of us is simultaneously good-enough and a work-in-progress. Still, it takes courage to call out the idealized version of our selves. It feels like we’re removing a security net. That’s why naming is an important part of shame resilience. Acknowledging and letting go of our perceived limitations is a tremendous act of bravery with a profound payoff.
Take a moment. Close your eyes and imagine the peace of avoiding the discovery at the end of life that you’ve been the person you always wanted to be – that you’ve been “good-enough” all along. As an experiment, be beautiful with what is and mindful of your awesomeness right now. After all, you already are.