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Mojo Monday - Are You Enough? The Balance Between Acceptance and Growth with Carly Taylor · Hardiness with Dr Paul Taylor

• 0:08
  Speaker 1: Hey, everybody, Carly Taylor here for this week's Mojo Monday.
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: So lately I've been reflecting on the power of language.
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: I've been thinking about certain words that we use in
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: the English language and how these words that we choose
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: can really shape our reality. And there's something really fascinating
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: about how some languages have expressions or words that we
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: don't even have in English. So, for example, in Japanese,
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: there's a word agi ottori hope I've pronounced that right,
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: which describes the feeling you get after a bad haircut.
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: So imagine that having a word for such a specific experience,
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: and it makes me wonder what feelings or concepts that
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: we're missing out on simply because we don't have the
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: language to describe them. And this morning I went to
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: yoga and my yoga instructor talked about this balance between
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: intentional growth and embracing the present moment, and that got
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: me thinking about a phrase that I hear a lot,
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: and that is I am enough. It's a mantra that's
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: always made me kind of stop and reflect what that
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: actually means. So let's break it down. The word enough
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: I looked up and it means as much or as
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: many as required. So when I ask my kids if
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: they've had enough dinner, what I'm really asking is are
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: you full? Do you need more? So it's a question
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: that implies a limit, like you've reached a point where
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: no more is needed. But when we say the mantra
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: I am enough, we're usually aiming for some deeper than that.
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: It's about recognizing our worth and accepting that in this moment,
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: we are valuable and we are deserving of love just
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: as we are. And I get that, and it's very comforting,
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: But I still wonder if you don't know the deeper
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: meaning of I am enough? Is enough really the right
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: word to use for this? And what troubles me about
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: this phrase is that it can be interpreted as a
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: reason to stop trying. So if I tell myself I
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: am enough, does that mean I don't need to change,
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: I don't need to grow or push myself anymore? And
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: for some people, this phrase might give them permission to
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: resist the discomfort of personal growth, to stop them moving
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: forward because they believe they've already arrived. And on the
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: flip side of this, many of us, myself included, are
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: constantly striving, so we're always chasing improvement, working towards goals,
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: pursuing a future that feels, you know, like it's just
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: out of reach. But we're working towards the future. So
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: when all our energy is focus on what's next, what's next,
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: what's next, we can lose sight of the present moment.
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: So if you're always focused on the future, you can
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: miss out on what's happening right now. So take this example.
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: If you're unhappy with your weight and filled with self loathing,
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: it's really hard to be content with your life in
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: the present moment. So you might try and tell yourself
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: I am enough. But if that doesn't feel true, or
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: if it becomes an excuse not to make changes, it
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: might leave you stuck in the same discomfort. So looking
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: at those two perspectives, there's a balance we need to find.
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: On one side, we need to stop resisting. What is
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: this means acknowledging the reality of who we are right now,
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: even if it's not where you want to be. It's
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: not about liking everything or being complacent, but about releasing
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: the struggle against the present. So when you stop resisting,
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: then you can make space to breathe, to see things
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: as they are. But that doesn't mean you don't keep
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: moving forward. On the other side, there's intentional growth, the
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: small steady steps you take each day to grow, evolve
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: and shape your life even if there's no final destination.
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: And now that I've delved into this, it really circles
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: back to that Japanese phrase that I mentioned so often,
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: and that is augamama with things as they are, what
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: needs to be done, and this Japanese concept, which is
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: really an experience rather than a word, but it is
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: something that I keep in my back pocket for every
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: single day in how I live my life because I
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: find it more helpful to think about letting go of
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: resistance rather than telling myself I am enough. So when
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: you stop fighting reality, you can see it clearly and
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: from there you can decide what to do next. And
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: there's no full stop, no static endpoint. Instead, it's about
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: continuing to grow while also being okay with where you
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: are right now, so you can accept this in your
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: current situation but still commit to progress. And as I
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: said earlier, there's no end goal here. We're never exonerated
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: from this work of living a rich and meaningful life.
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: So if we can stop resisting what is be present
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: with where you are, live with intention and keep moving
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: forward step by step. Thank you so much for joining
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: me on this week's My Joy Monday. I hope you
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: will have a great week and I will catch you
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: next week