Your worth does not have to be proven

I have spent a long time trying to prove that I was enough.

Enough to be loved. Enough to be respected. Enough to matter.

I measured myself in achievements. In how productive I could be, how agreeable I could act, how many needs I could meet for everyone else. I wore my effort like amour, thinking if I just worked hard enough, smiled long enough, stayed quiet enough, then I’d finally feel worthy. And for a while, it worked. The praise came. The approval. The “you’re so strong” and “ you’ve got it all together.” But none of it touched the hollow part inside- the part that still wondered, “ Would they stay if I stopped trying so hard?”

It wasn’t until I burned out completely that I started to ask different questions.

What if my worth isn’t earned?

What if it’s not something I need to chase down?

What if I had it all along and just forgot?

Letting go of the need to prove myself hasn’t been easy. Some days, the old habits whisper, “Do more. Be more.” But I’ve learned to pause and breathe through the moments. To remind myself that rest is not laziness. That existing- without performance of perfection- is still enough. I still want to grow. I still want to give. But now I try to do it from a place of worthiness, not for it. Your worth is not a performance. It’s not a competition. It’s not a test. It’s the quiet truth of who you are.

You don’t have to earn it. You just have to remember it.

So I’ll ask you this:

Who could you become if you stopped trying to prove your worth- and simply believed in it?