My presence is enough. I never became a scrapbooker or a Facebook poster. I admire friends who take frequent pictures with their families and make photo collages. I can be happy to see their pictures without comparing myself.

I am less reliable about capturing the moment, and it is enough for me to be in the moment. I have other gifts. Truly, no one does all the voices of the characters in the storybook like me.

My health is enough. In the gym, there is no need to compare myself physically to others. I enjoy working out and being part of a community where I feel accepted with messy hair and no makeup.

I do it for my mental and physical health, not to impress others. It is enough to have the energy and mobility for the things I want to do.

My efforts are enough. When there was a last-minute need for napkins at the friendship party, it was enough to reach into the pantry for the unopened pack of blue ones I already had and send them to the school the next day.

Someone suggested that I might run to the store and purchase alternate napkins with hearts, and I declined, noting that regardless of color, these items were going in the garbage in 24 hours, and that no child would come home and say, “Our class party was fine, but those cupcakes would have tasted better on different napkins!”

Plan for Being Enough. If you’re good at what you do, you will never get to the bottom of your to-do list.

This is not failure; this is an indicator that your talents are needed. But how do you avoid telling yourself that you’re not enough when there are unchecked boxes staring you in the face?

For me, it has been about framing. At the beginning of the day, I can define what a great day would look like by selecting a reasonable number of things I can do in the time I have (accuracy improves with practice).

Then, I honor my commitment to myself by employing good time management. When I succeed, I focus on the accomplishments rather than the things waiting for me to do tomorrow. I can feel the satisfaction of, “That’s enough for today.”

Accept that You are Enough. I have a note that reads, “10%,” on the wall of my office. It’s a reminder that no matter what I do, regardless of how much I care and how hard I try, ten percent of people are not going to like it.

Their reasons may vary, but the math stays the same. And when I accept that, I can move forward in my day knowing that I am enough; I’m doing my best and I can choose to be proud of my efforts.

If You’re the Boss, Help Others Be Enough. Those of us who lead people need to be conscious of the emotions involved (especially for high performers) in being enough at work.

We should be setting good examples by prioritizing the important, paying little regard to the trivial, and demonstrating that we are human. Generally, people come to work to do their best everyday, but no one is infallible.

Are we showing that it’s ok to make mistakes, learn from them and move forward? Do we encourage people to recharge their batteries? Have we made it clear we value their whole person, not just the worker?

If you are role modeling the right behaviors, your team will find it easier to believe that they are enough.

Send the message that they are enough. Do our children need to do anything to earn our love? Of course not, but it’s easy to see how they could think that scoring a goal or winning a contest is the way to get our approval.

Let’s remember to say we’re proud of them in small, quiet moments where nothing significant is happening. Just being themselves, the unique people they are becoming, whom we are privileged to lead, is enough.

Engaging in the Learning Process is Enough. At school drop off time, I say, “Be kind and learn something.” When I was in school, I worried endlessly about my grades. I wanted validation that I was a good student, and that came in the form of a neat little column of As.

Today, as a mom of two great students, I know to praise effort. I thank them for being conscientious about their homework. I ask if there are any subjects that interest them, as maybe those are clues to what kind of career they’d like to have.

I encourage them to advocate for themselves. We don’t talk much about grades; it is enough to see my kids trying, progressing, learning.

Being a Good Human is Enough. Very few of us are raising Olympic athletes or world-renowned scientists. And even if we are, can those things possibly be more important than being a kind and decent person?

It’s good to stop and reflect what we are teaching our kids to prioritize. We have cause to be happy for them when they succeed, and sometimes we need to think a little longer about what success really looks like.

Asking, “who did you help today?” is a great way to hear about and celebrate the good character qualities they are developing.