You are enough.
There. I said it. Breathe that in.
You are enough.
I can already hear your “Yeah, but’s.”
Yeah, but I could be thinner.
Yeah, but I haven’t graduated from law school yet.
Yeah, but I haven’t figured out my life purpose.
Yeah, but I’ve always wanted to write a book.
Yeah, but I’m not making as much money as I want to make.
Yeah, but… bullshit.
You Are There
When I wrote Stop Striving, You’re Already Enough, I shared with you my a-ha moment, when I realized that in the industry I’m in, you’re never “there.” I have friends who are uber-successful, their books have hit the New York Times Bestseller’s List, they’re high price ticket, in-demand public speakers, and they’re realizing their visions, and yet, they still crave more. There’s no limit to the success you can achieve in this business – hell, Oprah probably worries that she’s not “there” because her network isn’t a raging success.
To attain inner peace, at some point, you just have to accept that you’re already enough, regardless of the level of outer success you’ve achieved.
The Shadow Of The Visionary
When you’re a visionary on a mission to change the world, like every physician in the Whole Health Medicine Institute, each of my mentoring clients, and every Visionary Ignition Switch student, it’s so easy to wind up on the perpetual treadmill, “sperming” your way to the realization of your oh-so-noble and world-changing vision.
One visionary is trying to help a million women balance their hormones. Another is trying to convert everyone to veganism. Others are trying to save the environment or enlighten those who oppose gay marriage or emancipate the victims of human sex trafficking or feed the hungry. I am on a mission to heal health care.
These are beautiful, enlightened visions. Thank God for visionaries like this.
And yet, when you dig a little deeper into the shadows of us visionaries, you discover something a bit hairy, something covered up with layers of golden light, something… that looks and smells suspiciously like ego. And dirty feet. But mostly like ego.
The Big Why?
I asked a fellow visionary the other day why we were both even remotely tempted to sell out our families, our friends, our self-care, or our health in service to a mission, even a noble one? What is the driving force that makes us do this?
We were both left with a bitter taste in our mouths, probably from all those dirty feet we had to admit to licking.
When you get visionaries together and invite them to get really honest, most of us have to admit that somewhere, deep down, we worry that, unless we do big things/ make our mark/ save the world/ help people heal/ _________________ [fill in your own blank], we’re not enough.
Maybe, we think, if only we cure cancer or revolutionize a broken system or raise money for children orphaned by genocide or… I don’t know… end world hunger, maybe then we will have real value in the world.
Does this sound like you? Are you one of us dirty feet lickers?
Someone Needs To Save The World, Right?
When I stare into the shadow of what feels like truth, I have to ponder what life would be like if all the visionaries knew – without a shadow of a doubt – that we were already enough. Would we lose our motivation to save the world? Would we wind up sitting under bodi trees in the lotus position, reveling in the inner peace of our enoughness? And then who would crusade for change when it needs to happen?
Does the world depend on ego-driven, dirty feet-licking visionaries to keep it sane? Or can we let go of the need to be more and still be effective crusaders?
I don’t know the answer to this. Feel free to enlighten me.
What I do know is this.
You Have Arrived, Darling
As I was preparing to go on my book tour for my new book Mind Over Medicine: Scientific Proof That You Can Heal Yourself (order it here), my super grounded and ever-inspiring friend Kris Carr was giving me a pep talk. She said, “You have arrived, darling. I officially declare you ‘there.’ ”
And the voice of my Gremlin went ballistic. “No you’re not! Your publisher is expecting big things of you. You have to sell enough books to pay out your advance. The public television special they’re producing about your work has to convert to effective fund-raising for PBS. You’re not there yet! You have to work harder, rehearse more, go to more cities on your book tour, make it happen.
And then I bopped my Gremlin on the head until he was stunned into silence. I fed him a few peanuts, rubbed his little Buddha belly, and told him to quiet down, that although I know his scared little Gremlin voice is just trying to protect me, I am safe, I am enough, and he doesn’t need to prattle on the way he does.
That’s when the voice of my Inner Pilot Light chimed in. And what it said applies not just to me, but to you. So pay attention.
You Are Enough
Darling, you have arrived. You have nothing left to prove. You are inherently valuable, not because of how much you’ve achieved, but simply because you have within you a spark of divinity that makes you essentially valuable. Just look at any baby and you’ll see the inherent worth within every human being. You don’t have to earn that value because you just ARE.
Stop pushing. Stop striving. Stop trying to impress anybody. Stop being so spermy and just trust that you are enough, just as you are. Give up trying to be perfect because you’re guaranteed to fail, and remember that your imperfections are the gateway to intimacy with others who can relate to your vulnerabilities. Stop trying to get “there” and just savor being HERE. You are enough. You have arrived.
Take a deep breath and drink that in.
Do You Believe Me?
Is your Inner Pilot Light pulling out pom poms? Or is your Gremlin ranting right about now? How can visionaries effect positive change without getting caught in the black hole of ego that always strives for more?
Share your thoughts in the comments.
P.S. Have you read Mind Over Medicine yet? If so, BLESS YOU for supporting the birth of my book baby! I’d be so grateful if you’d tell me what you think. Post your review on Amazon here.
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