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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Lifestyle
Eleanor Gordon-Smith

How do I build a sense of worth that isn’t constantly slipping through my fingers?

A painting of a woman opening a box
‘Sometimes you have to look through the eyes of the people closest to you to get the proper read on why you’re worthy of esteem,’ Eleanor Gordon-Smith writes. Painting: Psyche Opening the Golden Box by John William Waterhouse. Photograph: Pictures Now/Alamy

I keep waiting to feel that I’m finally enough. I’ve worked hard, am in the process of changing careers to be more of service to others, gone to therapy. I go to the gym, eat the right food, have built things I’m proud of. And yet nothing sticks. Every time I hit a goal, there’s this tiny burst of pride, then it’s gone.

Lately, I’ve noticed how tangled this has become with how I see my body. I’ve been training and eating well for ages, but I still feel ashamed when I look in the mirror, as though I’ve failed some invisible test. People tell me I look great but it doesn’t land. There’s this constant hum of “not good enough” running underneath everything, no matter what I do.

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