For When You Don't Feel Good Enough

00:30

16:04

For When You Don't Feel Good Enough

by Dr Liz White

Rated

5

Type

guided

Activity

Meditation

Suitable for

Everyone

Plays

19

Do you ever not feel good enough? The feeling of not being good enough can pull you into trying harder, analysing yourself, comparing, fixing, and searching for proof that you are somehow okay. This gentle meditation offers another way. You’ll be guided to notice the old 'not-good-enough story' when it appears, without having to argue with it or prove it wrong. Using breath, body awareness and self-compassion, the practice helps you step out of the familiar pages of self-criticism and return to what is here, now. A meditation for the moments when you feel inadequate, behind, imperfect, or simply tired of measuring yourself. There is no need to resolve the story. You can notice it, offer some kindness to the part of you that hurts, and choose what you do next. Music credit: Ambient Jam by Tecnosine

Self Compassion Self Criticism Mindful Breathing Emotional Healing Visualization Self Acceptance Grounding Meditation Self Improvement Self Criticism Awareness Visualization Technique Grounding Technique

Meet your Teacher

London, UK

Meet your Teacher

London, UK

Transcript

Welcome. If you carry a heavy sense that you are not good enough, This practice will help you slow down, Step back from the story and offer some gentleness to that part of you that is hurting. Let's begin by finding a position that feels comfortable enough. You might be sitting or lying down. Let your hands rest somewhere naturally. Allow your eyes to close if that feels right. Or keep them open with a soft gaze in front of you. Take a moment to notice what is supporting you. The chair beneath you. The floor at your feet. The surface holding the weight of your body. For now, Allow yourself to be held. Bring your attention gently towards your breathing. There's no need to change it. Simply notice the quiet movement of air entering and leaving your body. Breathing even while difficult thoughts and feelings are here. When you're ready allow the next breath to deepen slightly. Breathing in. And slowly breathing out. Let the exhale soften whatever is ready to soften. Your shoulders. Your hands. The muscles around your eyes. Nothing needs to be forced. Now imagine that the story of your life has been written into a book. Inside are all the chapters that you have lived so far. The joyful ones. The painful ones. The ordinary days that seemed unimportant at the time. The moments you felt loved. The moments you felt lost. Your mistakes. Your courage. Things you survived without ever recognizing how much strength they required. All of it held within the pages. Somewhere along the way your mind may have given this book a title. Take a moment to notice what that title might be for you. Perhaps the story of someone who is never quite enough. The story of someone who always gets it wrong. The story of someone who must work harder to be worthy. Perhaps you've read this story so many times that it no longer feels like a story. It feels like the truth. See whether you can notice how the story is showing up for you today. Perhaps your mind is replaying something you said. Comparing you with someone else. Listing the ways that you feel you failed. Maybe it's searching through old memories gathering evidence against you. Take a slow breath in. And allow it to leave gently. Now notice the words that are here. What is your mind saying about you? Perhaps I'm not good enough. I should be further ahead. Everyone else is coping better than me. I always ruin things. Whatever appears, See whether you can meet it with a little curiosity. You might say. I notice that I'm having the thought that I'm not good enough. I notice that my mind is telling me I've failed. I notice that self-criticism is here. You're not trying to make the thoughts disappear. We're simply recognizing them as something your mind is producing. Words. Images. Memories. A familiar pathway your mind has travelled many times before. And now gently name the story. Here's the not good enough story. Here's the story that says I must earn my place. Here's the story that says one mistake defines me. Try to use a tone that feels warm. Not mocking. Not frustrated. Perhaps the tone that you might use for someone you love, Who's been carrying far too much for too long. Ah, This story again. No wonder this hurts. No wonder I feel so tired. This has been a difficult story to carry. Imagine that the book containing this story is resting in your hands. Notice its weight. Perhaps the cover is worn from being opened so many times. You know these pages well. You know every sentence, Every ending your mind has written before you even had the chance to live it. Now imagine gently closing the book. We're not going to destroy it or pretend that the book isn't there. The story may continue to call for your attention. It may even urge you to open it again. To return to a familiar page. To read the same words over and over, Searching for something you missed. You may not be able to choose whether the book appears in your hands, But you can begin to practice choosing what you do next. You can open it and become absorbed in its pages. Or you can notice the pull to read it and gently place it back on the shelf. Because maybe you can choose not to give it all of your attention in this moment. So place the book back on the shelf. And notice that there is a life around you beyond its pages. Gently bring your attention back to your body. Notice your feet, Your hands, The air against your skin. This is something important to know. Your life contains so much more than the story your mind repeats about you. There are other pages still being written. Moments that cannot be lived whilst you are endlessly re-reading the old ones. See whether you can offer some comfort to that part of you that feels it's not good enough. Perhaps silently saying. This is painful. I'm doing what I can. And I don't have to keep reading this story right now. Place a hand somewhere on your body if that feels comfortable. Perhaps over your heart. Your chest or your arm. Let the touch be a reminder that you are here, Supporting yourself through this. That this moment is difficult. And that difficulty does not make you defective. Or not good enough. You're a human being having a painful human experience. See whether you can allow yourself to receive a little comfort within it. The story may return. Your mind may place the book in your hands again and invite you back into its familiar pages. That doesn't mean that you've failed. It's simply another moment in which you can pause, Breathe, Notice, Name the story and choose what you do next. You can open the book and begin reading again, Going over the same words, Searching through the same pages. Or you can notice the pull to read it and with gentleness place it back on the shelf. Choosing where to place your attention in this moment. Again and again, You can practice closing the book and returning to the life that is here beyond its pages. And as we come to the end of this exercise, Take one final slow breath in. And let it leave in its own time. When you're ready, Begin to notice the room again. The light around you. The sounds nearby. The surface supporting your body. Gently open your eyes or lift your gaze. And carry this gentleness with you as you return to your day.