“You are worthy. No matter what you do.”

When asked what idea my friend would incept in the minds of all humans, that was it.

What a deep and important belief. I mean, at least it is for me.

For a long time, and still do, I struggled with feeling unworthy.

In my sophomore year of high school, I felt so unworthy that I was ready to leave. I would rather be dead than feel the inadequacy I felt. High school is a struggle, but it was deeper than high school.

I didn’t believe I was worthy to live and enjoy life.

Thankfully, those feelings subsided, and I could move on feeling “worthy” again.

Before I go further, I need to share that my parents instilled in me the idea that I was worthy.

Unconditional love is to allow the human you love to feel worthy no matter who they are. My parents did that.

Most love is not that.

If you have never had someone love you in a way that increased your self-worth, you’ll likely struggle with feeling worthy more than I am. Tell a kid they are worthless and better off dead, and check in when they are 20 and see if they feel “worthy.”

They likely won’t. Or struggle with it.

Back to my messed up story. My feelings of unworthiness never truly left. They shifted from a depressed state to an anxious state.

I will be worthy when _____.

This results in constant action, striving, and sadly, a feeling of not being worthy…yet.

Once I become a ___, then I will be allowed to feel worthy.

Newsflash: The ____ is constantly moving.

The ideal we must achieve to feel worthy never stops moving further away from us.

For many, our worth is found in the words after “I am…”

I am a father. I am a chief marketing officer. I am sober.