The Art of Being Enough

In the words of John Mason, people are born originals but most die copies.

And this is true in maximum cases because most of us fail to understand our worth. We are captured by our limiting thoughts and beliefs, that keep floating with us. After all, we live in a world of peer pressure, trends, and fads. And it is quite common to feel the “I am not good enough” vibes in such a situation. We are not even sure if we really have the capabilities that it takes to be successful. And so we start practicing what we are not. We lose our originality to become like someone else. We fail to realize what makes us unique, and why we should not compare ourselves to others but appreciate our specialties. And then we start getting disappointed. Moreover, in all this mess, our originality starts getting lagging behind.

Related post: The Originality Issue.

Taping into your originality

Once, there was a woman who used to take two water-filled pots from the river to her house daily. Of the two pots, one had a little crack on it that is there was always water leakage from that pot. While the other pot was perfect. The woman continued this daily practice of filling the pots and carrying them on her way home for many years. At the end of the long walk, on reaching home she realized that she always carried only one and a half pots of water, not two pots.

One day, when her son who was 10 years old noticed his mother’s activity, he questioned his mother. He asked, “Mom, you know very well that there is a hole in one of the pots, and water keeps leaking from that pot, then why don’t you change that? Why do you keep using the same pot?”

At this, the woman replied, “You are right my dear! Of course, one pot is perfect while the other because of its hole might be considered defective. But did you notice that I carried this defective pot always on that side of the road, where flowers were present? That’s because I have always known about its flaw, so I planted flower seeds on that side of the path, and every day while I walk back, the water leaking from this pot is used to water those flowers. Those are the same flowers that you are smelling on your table. Without the existence of that defective pot, you could not have felt the beauty of those flowers, what you are feeling now.”

The son was left speechless.

That’s the power of originality and being original.

Each of us has our own unique flaw, our own imperfections. But it’s the cracks and flaws that make our life worth rewarding as well as interesting. It doesn’t really mean that because of our flaws, we start losing our originality and start being like someone else.

You just have to accept your mistakes, tap into your originality and become the creative genius of your life. After all, there are many “flowers” that are waiting to be watered by you! And you must take care to smell those beautiful flowers on your path of life.

Do you know the reasons why you are enough already and why “being original” matters?

• Because you have already made many incredible achievements. Unfortunately, you never try noticing them or celebrating your small wins.
• You have a kind and caring heart. Be proud of it.
• You are genuine. You value real connections and we need more souls like you.
• The way that you value and care for others is inspiring indeed. Your beliefs in the goodness of others make you a better person too.

CONCLUSION

You must be the person God has made you be, not the person others expect or want you to be. Your life was never designed to be a copy, but unique in its own way. You are one of your own kind. To copy others is to cheat yourself. And cheating is bad, isn’t it?

You are worthy and deserving of your dreams. And you have everything that it takes, everything that you need to start and work on. All you need is just to believe in yourself. (Here’s why you must believe so.) And this world needs people like you. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but be a new and different person with a fresh newness in all you do and think, by working on yourselves consistently. Be sure that you are doing your very best.

While you are reading this article, I want you to know that you are enough, just the way you are. Never forget that, no matter how tough days you might be facing, you are strong and incredible enough to face even those toughest phases of your lives. You really are. Know that your dreams matter. Your life matters. And most importantly you matter.