I’ve been carrying a heavy secret lately. Despite my training as a therapist, I’ve been struggling with a very human feeling: inadequacy.

Every time I sit in those rooms with these well-established professionals, the gap between where I am and where my mentors are seems to widen. The more I am there, the more I fall into the rabbit hole of “not good enough”. You know that feeling: small, rushed, and overwhelmed. The kind where you don’t just get motivated to be more anymore, sometimes it paralyzes you to move forward.

But then I remember this Chinese phrase: 比上不足比下有余. In literal translation: Comparing up, I’m lacking; comparing down, I’m plenty.

If we compare ourselves to those above us, we will always be ‘less than’. If we look below, we are ‘more than’. It’s a simple truth of perspective. But here is the my revelation: The discomfort of being ‘not enough’ is actually a good sign. It means you haven’t settled.

It means you are in the presence of greatness, and greatness is contagious. If you were the smartest person in your circle, you’d be safe—but you’d be stagnant.

So here’s how I am reframing my thoughts on “not good enough”. I am telling myself: