You Matter

I often find myself saying the very thing to others I need to hear myself. Has this ever been true for you? 

Lately I hear myself ending most conversations with, “You are doing a good job” or “You matter”. I look people in the eyes so I am sure they hear me, I want the truth that who they are and the positive ways they are choosing to show up are needed, necessary, valuable and important.

If I am being honest, this is what I most wonder about myself. Are the ways I am showing up in the world, the things I am saying and doing making any difference? Am I enough, just as I am? 

Being someone who has spent most of her life battling between wanting to be someone everyone likes and needing to challenge the status quo, I have often felt like I am either too much or not enough in any given situation. How do I combat this voice in my head? I choose to tell others they are exactly enough when they show up with what they have to offer in each moment.

We all have internal lies and negativity we battle. I saw a social media post today that said something like 70% of our thoughts every day are negative. Woah, that is a large percent. It is easy in this world today where we are inundated with content about what life could and should be or look like to focus on all the ways we don’t measure up or are doing something wrong. 

I know you aren’t perfect, and I am very aware that I am not perfect. Of course we all have things we can work on, do better and ways we can be better. But focussing too much on our imperfections can paralyze us, well at least paralyze me. 

What if instead we saw what we did every day and told ourselves, “good job”. What if we realized the positive ways we showed up and determined to keep doing the good and giving ourselves grace for the hard. 

I know when I give myself grace, I am more likely to then give others grace. Maybe that is part of what we all need, less expectations and more grace. 

Maybe you are sitting there thinking about how your negative thoughts take over and you can’t see the positive, well let me take this opportunity to tell you, you are doing a great job. You showed up. You are here. You have brought value just by being yourself. 

Anytime you are having trouble believing this for yourself, head on over here and let me be one to believe for you. 

Because you matter, and so do I. Together we can have the courage to face the negativity. Telling it take a hike and in community live out our value.