Thursday, September 8, 2011 at 9:02AM | Amy C Enough Already! An Open Letter to Inner Voices Everywhere
Dear Negative Inner Voice,
I can hear the reverberations of your message echoing in my head. I’m not good enough. Strong enough. Smart enough.
Your words permeate the deep recesses of my brain, furtively acting the unwelcome guide for important decisions and actions related to my life. MY LIFE! (Not yours.)
I have to tell you. Your screaming gets distracting.
Don’t dare to try that! You’re not talented enough. Don’t say that out loud. You’re not enough of an expert. Besides, who’d listen to you anyway? You’re crazy to want to run. You’re not fit enough.
Even when your words are quiet, the repetition infiltrates all my senses (and frankly drives me crazy).
No one’s reading your writing. You’re not different enough. Unique enough. Controversial enough.
You’re not wise enough. Fit enough. Artistic enough. Discerning enough. Funny enough. Brave enough. Pretty enough. Organized enough. Committed enough. You’re not enough. You're not enough.
enough already
ENOUGH ALREADY.
Did you hear that, voices? Enough!
Your words are not truth. They are not relevant to my world anymore. In fact, they never were.
Your messages are leftover vestiges of conversations I overheard when I was too little to understand what was going on—when I believed that everything that happened was a result of something I did.
Remember when I was four, and I believed that my grandfather died because I didn’t like the coconut shavings on his birthday cake? That wasn’t true! Thank goodness my mom set me straight on that one when I mentioned it to her that one day.
I’ve paid way too much attention to you over the years. With each repetitive whisper you’ve breathed into my consciousness, the truth began to get buried. During my teen years, when I was most vulnerable to what others thought of me, I believed you and allowed you to settle within the threaded circuitry of my brain.
I’m older now. Wiser. I have experience and practical knowledge on my side.
I know you are lying. You are strong, but every day I’m growing stronger. Your words are no longer relevant.
They’re Simply. Not. True.
So go ahead. Scream your nasty words. Just try to undermine my dreams and question my confidence. I dare you.
Because you see, I can still hear you, but it doesn’t mean I have to listen to you. I can give you a teeny tiny corner in my brain and then leave you there. I will ignore you when you throw your tantrums and start screaming.
I’ll laugh your whispers off as nonsense. Because I have seen the truth:
I am enough.
welcome
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Reader Comments (4)
Hmm. What a lovely truth. I am enough. Today, just as I am.
oh this is good stuff! You are a prolific blogger! I'm trying to up from one to two times a week...ha! anyway, hope you're having a good time on the road. I love it to, driving through country I've never seen before.
I'm enough because I am loved. It is hard to fight against what we feel, and the untrue voices that try to hold us back by lying to us. This is a great reminder to separate those voices from what is really true.
Kim - Exactly!
Jill - Thank you. I'm so glad to hear this resonated with you. And yes, being on the road right now is wonderful (although looking forward to landing in a few months).
Annalisa - Separating the voices is definitely the trick (and tricky part). And you're right, it is hard, but oh-so-necessary. Welcome!