A lot of people tell me that they often do not feel productive enough. I am guilty of feeling this way myself. Even when working on something already, a feeling can arise that tells you that you aren’t working hard enough or efficiently enough. When will enough be enough?
Often times people are conditioned to feel that we must be productive in order to have value. That is simply not true. Guilt crops up when we are doing things that are important, like taking care of ourselves, or taking a few moments to enjoy life, and we can’t even enjoy the moments of self-care or joy because we feel guilty about all the work we aren’t doing. It’s all a wash because we couldn’t fully be present in the moment and worry about being productive more than necessary. The feeling can have many names- worry, guilt, anxiety, nervous, etc.
Where is this feeling of not being productive enough coming from? Who is sending this message to you?
When does it crop up? Is there a pattern of when this feeling occurs? What is that pattern?
What actually is being productive “enough”? What does that look like or feel like? When have you felt productive “enough”?
Are there other feelings that are not enough? Are you not enjoying yourself enough? Taking care of yourself enough? Doing x, y, or z enough? Where are these ‘not enough’ messages cropping up in your life?
Are these ‘not enough’ messages helpful or hurtful? Are they beneficial in any way?
What can be done to be enough? When is enough enough?
What could the ‘not enough’ message be replaced with?
How does the common ‘all or nothing/black and white thinking’ of ADHD impact your feelings of ‘not enough’?
What would it take to feel like whatever you are doing at this level is enough?
Not everything is forever. Can this be enough for now?
I feel like I’ve given a lot to think about in this blog so I will keep it short this month. Also I feel like I’ve written the word ‘enough’ so many times that it doesn’t even look like a word anymore. In this case, enough is enough.
