“I’m not good enough, smart enough, thin enough, pretty enough, rich enough. I don’t deserve love, attention, recognition, friendship. I should be more popular, more successful, better organized, less afraid.”

These are toxic thoughts. They invade one’s thinking and feel very real. The only truth about them is that they are just thoughts, not facts. If you believe the famous adage, “what you think, you become,” toxic thoughts become a part of the self, affecting how we feel, and how we navigate through life. They encourage hiding behaviors, and prevent us from truly being seen and valued by others and ourselves.  

The question remains, how can you stop them? Our minds are designed to think, so stopping the process of thinking certainly isn’t an option. However cultivating an awareness of what you are thinking, in the moment, looking for evidence, and practicing a little gratitude begins the process of transformation from toxicity to truth, from depletion to potential, from hopelessness to possibility.

So pay attention to what you are thinking, and say to yourself, “I am enough. I have enough.”  Acknowledge what is really true and point your thoughts in the direction of gratitude, from everything that is wrong in your life, to being enough, to having enough, in this moment. 

Cultivating awareness with truth and gratitude doesn’t preclude you from making bigger changes in your life. It’s more about acknowledging what enough looks like for you right now.  When you consistently come from a place of being and having enough, you feel better and you interact with others more authentically. It’s an attractive quality in cultivating friendships, seeking romantic relationships, providing the responsiveness necessary for healthy child development, and in promoting professional growth. 

Practicing gratitude won’t change the real challenges in your life. Those issues need to be addressed with genuine grit and problem solving skills. Practicing awareness of thoughts, however, looking for evidence for what is true, and redirecting thoughts in the direction of gratitude is a great start.

Enough may be your bridge from toxic thinking to experiencing life with greater abundance overall.  

“I am enough. I have enough.”

“I am enough. I have enough.”