75 Feeling Not Good Enough Quotes & 5 Tips to Increase Your Self-Worth!

I may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you.

You are good enough.

When was the last time someone told you that?

More importantly, when was the last time YOU told yourself that?

It’s easy to get sucked into thinking that “I’m not good enough”.

Low self-worth can often be a sneaky feeling that you don’t realize is there. You will find yourself putting everyone’s needs first, struggling to manage time, overwhelmed, stressed out, and exhausted. Even then, you’ll blame yourself for not having enough time for others.

As you try to manage everyone’s needs, you’ll have to make someone upset and blame yourself again. And the whole time, you feel stuck, because you are going to end up letting someone or the other down.

The often overlooked root of all that angst is not feeling good enough. Somehow, everyone else can take care of their needs, but you are inadequate if you don’t take care of them, too.

These feelings of inadequacy might show up as a mom: feeling not being good enough if you take an hour of me-time for yourself.

It might show up as a business owner: not feeling good enough if you take a day off from posting on social media.

It might show up as a girlfriend: not feeling good enough for him if you take some time for yourself.

Or, not feeling good enough for yourself, as you balance your friends, partner, and work, and have no time and energy left.

Don’t have time? Pin to read later!

Symptoms of the feeling of not being good enough:

– feeling bad saying no

– feeling guilty asking for help

– hustling, striving, and thinking of “when I do this” or “when I get that”

– feeling powerless

– carrying the responsibility for everyone else’s feelings, actions, and behavior

The reality is that you are good enough.

How do I know this?

Because as a human being, you are inherently worthy.

You are good enough, no matter what you do or don’t do!

And to be honest, if you are reading this blog, I am sure you are MORE than enough in many areas of your life.

So start owning your power and self worth. Step into the belief that you are worthy, you are amazing, you are good enough – hell, you are MORE than enough!

10 simple ideas to maintain your mental wellness!

You Will Never Feel Enough

When you feel not enough right now, no matter what you achieve, you won’t feel enough, because let’s face it… you can ALWAYS do better.

You, me, Michael Phelps, Beyonce… everyone can always DO MORE.

So where is the limit?

When you feel good enough NOW, you don’t stop improving or growing.

You just feel content and satisfied. But you can always grow more, and that is good! That is beautiful. But you have detached yourself from the NEED and desperation.

Ideas to heal this limiting belief:

There are many ways to heal limiting beliefs. Changing what you tell yourself, how you think, and the way you behave are key. Here are some ways to overcome the feelings of not being good enough.

Journal

It’s easy to get swept away by thinking “Why am I not good enough?”, so much so that you lose sight of what ‘good enough’ even means.

But, what exactly is the definition good enough ?

Journal prompts for feeling good enough:

Take out your journal and explore some of those questions so that you can get clear on why you have this belief.

• Why do you feel like you aren’t good enough?
• Where does the fear of not being good enough come from?
• When was the first time you didn’t feel good enough?
• Who told you that you aren’t good enough?
• What would it look like if you were good enough?
• How can you act like you are good enough right now?
• When exactly will you know that you are good enough?
• Is this standard of what is ‘good enough’ fair? Would it be fair for someone else? Is the ‘good enough’ doable?

When you heal this belief you can own up and stop living in fear and guilt. take the time you need right now.

Want to start a journal practice in 2024?

6 things you are amazing at

Every day, write down 6 things you love about yourself or that you are good at. This will help eradicate the belief that you aren’t good enough by boosting your self-worth and helping you see the good in you. 

I am good enough because ____

Finish this sentence with something new everyday. Compliment yourself, find a reason you are worthy – even if it seems like you can’t! If you can’t think of anything you can just say “I am good enough because I took a shower today” or “I cooked my family a wholesome meal”. 

Affirmations

Affirmations are so useful in rewriting limiting beliefs. While there are thousands of affirmations online, I highly recommend you to come up with your own so that you feel truly aligned with what you are repeating. If you keep saying “I am so rich” and don’t believe it 1%, then no matter how many times you repeat it, nothing will happen. The key here is to truly feel into the affirmations. If saying “I am amazing” feels fake to you, you can start by adding phrases such as “I am beginning to believe that I am amazing” or “I am learning to accept that I am amazing”. 

When you repeat affirmations that evoke a positive emotion, the repetition creates new neuropathways. Essentially, your brain creates new thinking patterns (in this case, the thinking pattern is that you are good enough!).

Hence, repetition is key.

Some ideas for “good enough” affirmations: 

• I am good enough no matter what I do or don’t do. 
• I am good enough because I am intrinsically worthy. 
• I do my best, and that is good enough. 
• I am enough. 
• I am perfectly imperfect. 
• I have everything I need. 
• I am always good enough, no matter what. 
• I am an amazing mom/wife/daughter/girlfriend/sister/____. 
• I love and accept myself. 
• I value myself.

Tell others and yourself – ACT out the part!

What you think about is important, but just changing your self-talk won’t make a difference if you don’t act out the part.

What does being good enough mean?

Does it mean that you take a break, because you are good enough even if you take an afternoon off?

Does it mean that you ask for help, because you are good enough even if you struggle with everything on your plate?

Start treating yourself like you are good enough and deserve more. Everything you do, no matter how small, tells your subconscious something.

So if you say yes when you want to say no, you’re telling yourself that you are not worthy of your time and energy – someone else is.

Be intentional, step into your big-girl shoes, and treat yourself like you deserve it!

What can you do today to feel worthy and feel good enough? 

Common Questions

What is the feeling of not being good enough called? 

Another word for describing this feeling can be inadequacy. 

What is the root cause of not feeling good enough?

It comes from a feeling of low self-worth. 

Is it common to not feel good enough?

This feeling is very common and often the driving force of most of our actions! We all want to be accepted, and most of us have the feeling that we need to please others and do more.

Feeling Not Good Enough Quotes

Here are 75 feeling of not being good enough quotes that will help inspire you.

1. “There’s too much darkness in the world. Everywhere you turn, someone is tryin’ to tear someone down in some way; everywhere you go, there’s a feeling of inadequacy, or a feeling that you’re not good enough. I want to bring a certain light to the world.” – Alicia Keys
2. “Shame is the most powerful, master emotion. It’s the fear that we’re not good enough.” – Brene Brown
3. “I put a lot of pressure on myself. I think something’s not good enough, and I won’t stop until I feel like I’ve made it. I’m never satisfied.” – J. Cole
4. “I feel a kinship with anyone who feels that their road, their life or who they really are is not good enough. I really relate to that.” – Baz Luhrmann
5. “Take the attitude of a student, never be too big to ask questions, and never know too much to learn something new.” – Og Mandino
6. “Everything is hard before it’s easy.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
7. “It is hard to fail but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.” – Theodore Roosevelt
8. “Unless you’re willing to have a go, fail miserably, and have another go, success won’t happen.” – Phillip Adams
9. “If we only did things that were easy, we wouldn’t actually be learning anything. We’d just be practicing things we already knew.” – David Dockterman
10. “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” – Nelson Mandela
11. “It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop.” – Confucius
12. “Great works are performed, not by strength, but by perseverance.” – Samuel Johnson
13. “Life is about taking chances, trying new things, having fun, making mistakes and learning from it.” – Unknown
14. “Be willing to be a beginner every single morning.” – Eckhart Tolle
15. “Talk to yourself like you would to someone you love.” – Brene Brown
16. “What you tell yourself every day will either lift you up or tear you down.” – David Klaus
17. “Words matter. And the words that matter most are the ones you say to yourself.” – David Klaus
18. “Everywhere I look, someone is telling me, ‘You’re not good enough,’ or, ‘You can’t do this or that.’ You can only hear that so many times before enough is enough.” – Baker Mayfield
19. “There will always be someone who can’t see your worth. Don’t let it be you.” – Unknown
20. “Self-doubt is the anchor that keeps our ships from sailing.” – Unknown
21. “Everyone’s journey is different. Don’t compare your path to anyone elses.” – Unknown
22. “If I asked you to name all the things you love, how long would it take to name yourself?” — Unknown
23. “My problem wasn’t not being good enough. My problem was thinking I had to be.” — Unknown
24. “I understand that feeling of insecurity, like you’re not good enough as you are, and you need to change.” – Shannon Purser
25. “There will always be someone who can’t see your worth. Don’t let it be you.” – Unknown
26. “There’s not one human being on the planet earth who has never felt, at some point, unaccepted. At some point in our lives, we feel like we’re not good enough, but we have to step back and realize that we are.” – Jussie Smollett
27. “Sometimes, I feel as useless as a white crayon.” – Unknown
28. “Nothing will knock you down quicker than offering the best of yourself to someone and it still not being good enough.” – M.W Poetry
29. “Your greatest responsibility is to love yourself and to know you are enough.” – Unknown
30. “People will try to label you not good enough, too slow, too old, too many mistakes. You can’t stop negative comments or prevent negative labels, but you can choose to not let them hold you back.” – Joel Osteen
31. “It feels like I am living every day trying to impress someone.” – Unknown
32. “The worst thing about that kind of prejudice… is that while you feel hurt and angry and all the rest of it, it feeds you self-doubt. You start thinking, perhaps I am not good enough.” – Nina Simone
33. “Good enough is never good enough.” – Alfred Bertram Guthrie
34. “And above all things, never think that you’re not good enough yourself. A man should never think that. My belief is that in life people will take you at your own reckoning.” – Isaac Asimov
35. “Every time I looked in the mirror, it was like, ‘You’re not good enough.’ ‘There’s always someone more popular.’” – Brian Welch
36. “I did the best I could, and in some arenas, my best was not good enough. I’ve made some bad choices.” – Amy Grant
37. “And it is easy to believe you are not good enough if you listen to everybody else.”- Mackenzie Astin
38. “Sometimes you might feel like you’re not good enough or unique enough, but everyone is! Everyone has different personalities.” – Astrid S
39. “Be mindful of your self-talk. It’s a conversation with the universe.” – David James
40. “Positive thinking will let you do everything better than negative thinking will.” – Zig Ziglar
41. “Positivity always wins. Always.” – Gary V
42. “We start to feel not good enough and we withdraw our hearts energy and sensor our authentic expression, and that hurts!” – Agapi Stassinopoulos
43. “Tomorrow will be a brighter day and a brighter you.” – Shane Walker
44. “The greatest mistake a man can ever make is to be afraid of making one.” – Elbert Hubbard
45. “You make mistakes. Mistakes don’t make you.” – Maxwell Maltz
46. “If you truly believe in yourself and your skills, most times, it’s enough.” – Daniel Cormier
47. “Focus on what you bring to the table, not what everyone else is bringing.” – Shane Walker
48. “Follow your dreams, believe in yourself, and don’t give up.” – Rechel Corrie
49. “If I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning.” – Gandhi
50. “The way you speak of yourself / the way you degrade yourself / into smallness / is abuse.” — Rupi Kaur
51. “You are not your mistakes: they are what you did, not who you are.” – Lisa Lieberman-Wang
52. “All I can tell you really is if you get to the point where someone is telling you that you are not great or not good enough, just follow your heart and don’t let anybody crush your dream.” – Patti LaBelle
53. “You’ve been criticizing yourself for years and it hasn’t worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens.” – Louise Hay
54. “It’s a lie to think you’re not good enough. It’s a lie to think you’re not worth anything.”- Nick Vujicic
55. “Doubt whom you will, but never yourself.” – Christian Nestell Bovee
56. “We are afraid of failure, of ridicule, of being rejected. We are afraid we’re not good enough.” – Rhonda Britten
57. “Don’t let anyone tell you that you’re not good enough. Don’t let anyone tell you that you’re too short, you’re too fat, you’re too thin, you’re too ugly – that’s nonsense.” – Bradley Walsh
58. “Sweetheart, the right guy will make you a priority. If you find yourself feeling like you’re not good enough, it’s because he’s not good enough.” – Steve Maraboli
59. “Models are some of the most insecure people I’ve ever met. They’re constantly being told they’re not good enough. You’ve really got to practice loving yourself.” – Miranda Kerr
60. “I go to sleep every single night thinking I’m not good enough. I really do. I don’t know if that’s healthy or not. But I really do have a fear of not being good, and I don’t like that.” – Diana Taurasi
61. “Your path is your path. Don’t compare it to others. Everyone’s timeline, obstacles, and triumphs are different.” – Jon Gordon
62. “My biggest fear is that I’m not good enough. I have this voice in my head that I’ve been battling for years that says, ‘You’re not really talented enough. You don’t really deserve this.’” – Rachel Platten
63. “Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers, you cannot be successful or happy. – Norman Vincent Peale
64. “When a flower doesn’t bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower.” – Alexander Heijer
65. “If you never try, you’ll never know what you are capable of.” – John Barrow
66. “Talent you have naturally. Skill is only developed by hours and hours and hours of beating on your craft.” – Will Smith
67. “Learn to walk away from those that do not value your worth or recognize your potential.” – Shane Walker
68. “You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” – Buddha
69. “It is possible to be in love with you just because of who you are.” – Maggie Stiefvater
70. “Love yourself so much that when someone treats you wrong, you recognize it.” – Rene Rose
71. “You don’t have to earn or deserve love. You are love. Loving is never about how others treat you. It is always about how you are treating yourself.” – Unknown
72. “Love isn’t something you have to deserve.” – Jennifer Echols
73. “Rejection doesn’t mean you aren’t good enough; it means the other person failed to notice what you have to offer.” – Unknown
74. “If you want to create a new tomorrow you have to stop beating yourself up for yesterday.” – Unknown
75. “Fall in love with yourself, with life, and then with whoever you want.” – Frida Kahlo

Pin it for later!