In our pursuit of happiness, excellence, and dare I say perfection, we can feel overwhelmed, unworthy, not up to the task, or not enough to meet the challenges of life. There is nothing like comparison and a diminished sense of worthiness to suck the joy out of your day.
If you have a twenty dollar bill and you crumple it up, or it gets faded in the laundry, or passes through 50 to a 100 hands, at the end of the journey it’s still worth 20 dollars. It’s worth has not changed. It is not our experience that defines us, it’s our identity that defines us. You are a unique and perfect expression of life. No one before you and no one after you, is like you. Your journey is composed of experiences and the things you think, do, and pay attention to with consistency. You are enough.
In this practice, we will hold our attention on five affirmations that can help us be more compassionate toward ourselves. Try doing this in moments when you feel overwhelmed—breathing in, “I do my best,” breathing out, “I let go of the rest.” You can do it right before you go to sleep at night. You did your best, you let go of the rest. Tomorrow is a new day.
A 12-Minute Meditation to Remind Yourself That You Are Enough
A 12-Minute Meditation to Remind Yourself That You Are Enough
- Sit and find your breath. Sitting in an upright relaxed position, please drop your gaze or close your eyes. Find the breath, the faithful friend that it is, and notice that you are breathing. Take a deep breath in, and out.
- Take three deep breaths. Breathing in, breathing out. Breathing in positivity, breathing out and letting go of old stale air and stale stories. Breathing in, breathing out. Sitting with our attention on the breath. Relax the body, drop your shoulders, and be still.
- Repeat these affirmations to yourself, taking a deep breath at the end of each sentence. I am a human being full of life and possibility. No one else is like me. I have a right to make mistakes and recover. I love myself unconditionally. I do not need anyone else’s approval to love and be kind to myself. Sometimes I do not know. It is OK not to know. What is not known is an invitation to be curious and to discover. I do my best. I let go of the rest.
- Return your attention to the breath. If your mind wanders off, come back to the home base of the breath.
- Gently and easily, on the next breath, open your eyes and return your attention to the space.
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