When will it ever be enough?

As a kid, I was always taught to reach my potential—
to set goals above my expectations
and work hard to become a better version of myself.

But when will this version be enough?
When do I finally come to terms with myself?
Will I ever be at peace with whom I’ve come to be.
Satisfied with the person I’ve built for years?

When will I learn to accept
that I don’t have to be at constant war with myself
for simply being normal?

As Mary Oliver once said:
“You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.”

But in this society, it feels impossible.

They’ve linked the term mediocre
with failure,
and so, at night,
many stare at their ceiling,
feeling like a let-down,
simply because they couldn’t be more.

It’s why elderly men don’t retire—
because even at their age,
they’re expected to keep improving.

But what if we chose instead
to normalize self-acceptance?
What if we allowed ourselves
to recognize the effort
that carried us to where we are today?

It’s okay if you’re not the next millionaire.
You don’t have to be the next Albert Einstein.

So many tell us that life is about growth—
a constant journey of becoming better.
And maybe they’re right.
But life is also too short
to live with the endless mindset
of wanting to complete everything
in the span of one lifetime.

We must learn to appreciate.
To slow down,
and build our own meaning.

Because it never depended on anyone else.
It didn’t matter
when your boss labeled you as ‘replaceable’
It didn’t matter
when you anticipated that raise
and never got it.
It didn’t matter
when you hit rock bottom
and struggled to stand again.

Remember this:
Being human never made you weak.
It made you uniquely capable
of becoming stronger.

Life is what you make of it—
not what others call average,
but what you choose to see as
success.