I know I'm not alone in this. Everyone at some point in their life has felt like they aren't good enough for one reason or another.

There are so many reasons we don't feel like we measure up to where we should. Maybe we aren't as involved as we want to be, getting the grades we want to get, or getting recognition for the things we do. Maybe you have a sibling who seems to outshine you in every aspect of your life. Maybe you try so hard to get another person's attention because you like them, and they just can't seem to reciprocate the feeling.

There are times when it's more frustrating than others, too. Sometimes you feel like you've given all of who you are and everything you have to a project, presentation, or relationship and it still doesn't feel like it's enough.

Well I've got some news for you.

It is.

Everything you've ever done in your life has been enough. The problem is this: when we feel like we aren't pleasing other people, we start asking what's wrong with ourselves. We don't look at the friendship or relationship and ask what's wrong with the situation. Instead, we wonder if just maybe things would be different if we hadn't been too loud or if we had smiled more or if we had just tried a little harder.

At some point we have to realize it's not about any of that. It's not on us. Everything about who we are is good enough -- but if we can't be good enough for ourselves we will never be good enough for other people. The root of every relationship, friendship, situation that makes us feel inadequate is a direct reflection of our insecurities. The things we look at in ourselves that make us feel like we don't measure up to where we should be are the things that make us feel inferior in all aspects of our lives.

I think the thing we struggle with the most has a lot to do with the expectations we have of ourselves. Other people don't really have a lasting influence or impact on the things we do or who we are because, at the end of the day, it's just us stuck in our own heads.

There are things in my life that I haven't even attempted because I feel so inadequate compared to the possible competition. But here is the biggest secret: when we stop looking at life as a competition and start looking at it as a venue for us to grow and develop to become the best versions of ourselves, we stop feeling inadequate. When we realize our lives and relationships aren't meant to be founded and built on competition, we release ourselves from the fear of inferiority that holds us back.