I’m a pretty terrible content creator.

Started a blog and kept it up (loosely) for about the same amount of time my son brushes his teeth (not long).

Started posting on LinkedIn and stopped after the pressure to come up with sage daily wisdom had me feeling as though I was a LinkedIn employee.  Yuck.

Mad respect for those “creators” who can write, rap, produce, or make a video every day.  That takes fortitude, resilience, creativity, and probably a healthy dose of ADHD I don’t have.

What I do have is grace and compassion for myself.

When I started putting the inner workings of my mind out on the internet for the world to see, I did a good job of beating myself up to make every story “click” and every word “matter.”  The perfectionism and fear ran strong.

Today, I can honestly say I don’t care (as much).

Not that I don’t want my “product” to be good, but most stuff on the internet doesn’t matter.

At all.

What does matter is love.

It’s taken many many years to realize this, but the love I have for the guy typing these words is strong.

He’s still a jerk at times.  Loses his cool on his kids at times.  Says mean things to his wife at times.  Has overly judgmental thoughts at times.  But he deserves my love during these times the most.

It’s the only thing that heals the self-inflicted wounds that cut so deep.  Self-care from the inside out.

I usually reserve this blog for thoughts related to me, but I’m going to go on a limb and say, I think there are others out there who beat themselves up.  Beating of the mental kind.

It’s a sickness.

People are hurting.

It’s not just the people who you’d expect to be hurting.  Those with poor job prospects, health challenges, or struggling income.

The people I work with are some of the wealthiest in their communities.  Running incredible businesses and doing impressive things fit for LinkedIn braggadocios posts.

They are hurting too.

From my vantage point the main culprit is this…

“I’M.  NOT.  GOOD.  ENOUGH.”

It’s the thought that pushes us to:

Grow more.

Look more.

Push more.

Exercise more.

Make more.

Be more.

Every time an achievement is gained and a mountain summited – after the high is realized, another realization comes into focus…

There’s another summit that is higher and promises greater rewards.

I know this, because I’ve reached multiple false summits in my life.  No summit has provided the salvation I convinced myself it would.  Not marriage, not business ownership, not kids, not real estate investments.  Not even spiritual quests.

After nearly a decade of daily meditation, my mind is still tormented with thoughts like…

“Get botox, those wrinkles on your forehead are looking cavernous.”

“Dye your hair old-timer.”

“Do something to stop that hairline from retreating to the back of your neck.”

“Stop coaching and go run a huge business to prove you still “got-it.”

“Get a bigger house.”

All of the above has run through my mind in the last 3 days alone.

I’m willing to bet any amount of money that should I invest a million dollars into my aging body, start-up the most successful bitcoin AI business, and buy the largest house in town, my first thought would be…

“Get a younger wife.”

Thank god I don’t know anything about bitcoin or AI.

And thank god I’ve done some work on myself.  Work that has led me back to the near constant grace, love, compassion, understanding, and patience needed to move through this life as a severely flawed and wonderful human being.

If you’re anything like me and find yourself climbing a mountain that you’re positive will deliver the happiness and perfection you seek… 

If you’re anything like me and find your thoughts nagging at your baggy eyes or aging body…

I hope you’ll use your humanity to find some love for yourself.

You’re enough.

I’m enough.

We’re enough.

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Author Bio: Dan started Fired and Free in 2017, to provide his “truth” after being fired as CEO of the company he started and led. After a diverse 17-year career in management consulting and entrepreneurship, Dan now leads 3Sixty Leadership, where he provides coaching and consulting to business owners, helping them to improve their leadership and company culture.