Is What You Have Good Enough?
How many times in your life have you not ventured into something you wanted to do or something new? Was that because you believed what you currently had – knowledge, resources, relationships, skills – was not enough to be good enough?
I have.
In fact, in my life I have rejected the opportunity to run a project because I believed I did not have enough experience. Without experience, I feared the consequences if I failed. Not once did I consider what would happen if I didn't fail.
When I was in college, I rejected the idea of changing from an engineering major to a business major because of my lack of exposure to finance.
Both of those instances were examples of me believing I did not have enough of what I believed was needed to succeed. I never once considered that what I had was good enough.
You DO Have Enough to be Good Enough
Many years after those instances, I am a different person.
Oh, don't get it twisted. I still have fears that what I have is not enough. Sometimes I question if I am good enough for what it is that I want to accomplish.
The difference is today I am willing to press forward with the knowledge, resources, relationships, and skills that I currently have.
I work with the understanding that what I have is good enough. It is also my belief, and experience, that as I work with what I have, more is added unto it.
Right now the best example I have for you is me becoming an author and all that comes with it. Recently I wrote, Diet-Free Me: How to Stop Struggling, How to Lose Weight, and Embrace a Healthy Lifestyle. It is my first book.
As I move from the writing phase to the promotion phase, what I do not have eats at me. During this journey, however, I have learned that what I have is good enough and what makes it so.
Below is how you focus on what you have being good enough.
Only Look at Others as a Guide
A trap I found myself falling into was paying attention to what others had and were doing in comparison to me.
Doing that made me anxious, made me feel inadequate and as if I was missing out on a difference maker. It also made me want to do everything others were doing, which only made me more anxious.
Working to keep pace with others slowed my progress of reaching my goals.
To change that, I instead noted what others were doing and kept moving. That allowed me to focus on reaching each next milestone using the skills and resources that I already had.
Work with What You Have
Speaking of working with you have, throughout the process there were moments when I dwelled on what I did not have. For instance, not having a staff, not having a big social following, and not being connected to people with enough influence to expose me to a big audience.
Yes, I did not and still do not have a staff. What I did have is the ability to look at my schedule and determine where I could make room for what I needed to do. Where possible, I also outsourced work and asked for assistance.
That assistance comes from the network I do have. That includes, family, friends, work colleagues, strangers I meet throughout the day, and a community of self-publishing authors who have the same goals that I do.
Be Kind to Yourself
When we have a sense of lacking, we can be hard on ourselves. Don't be. We all must start some place. It is very rare to come out of the gate having everything we need, especially when doing something new.
Be kind to yourself and believe that what you have is good enough to get you where you want to be.
Keep the topic going: How do you approach making what you have good enough? Share in the comments, on Facebook, or Twitter.