When I Learned That It’s Okay To Say I’m Good Enough

Like many women (and probably some men, too), I have a tendency to compare myself to others, especially those with whom I have something in common: mothers, church members, bloggers, content writers. And most of the time, my comparisons do not come out in my favor. I’ve heard it said that we tend to compare our own worst qualities with other people’s best attributes. It still doesn’t stop me. I’m not skinny enough, not organized enough, not as hard-working, not as smart.

I worked full-time while my husband got his degree, with the intent to complete my education when it was my turn. We started a family quickly, and as you can imagine, taking college classes got put off every year! Now I’m 40, have a few young kids still running around everywhere, and haven’t yet gone back to school. Thus my number one unfavorable comparison: I’m not as educated as my peers.

BKA Content gives their writers the chance to be in the spotlight with these blog posts, as well as having an active and supportive online community. While reading my fellow BKA writers’ profiles, I often see English and marketing degrees that I don’t have. I’ve caught myself too many times saying, “I’m not worthy of this job because of my lack of credentials.”

I had to stop and think about what this was doing to my self-worth. There had to be a reason I was hired, right? And the guys who run BKA have been nothing but supportive and uplifting. Was it fair to me, and to the people I work with, that I was putting myself down?

If you spend your time thinking you’re not good enough, eventually it starts to show up in your work.

As a newly single mother, I could not afford to let that happen.

I can remember being fascinated with words ever since learning to read in kindergarten. Since then, I haven’t stopped writing. From silly poems and stories in elementary school, to research papers in high school, writing anything and everything was one of my favorite activities. I didn’t stop outside of school, despite completing only one year of college. I started working on bigger stories, and eventually books. I attended writers’ conferences, took a few writing classes when I could, read books on the subject, and joined some amazing writers’ groups.

I learned that there are other ways to educate yourself and develop your talents besides getting a formal degree. Along the way, I completed two novels, built a blog following, and gained dozens of supportive friends with a shared passion for writing. And somehow, something must have paid off, because now I’m working at a job I never would have dreamed I could get. Every day, I feel blessed and grateful that I’m able to stay home and support my family while continuing to improve my writing skills. (But my time management skills are a different issue entirely!)

If you have a passion, there’s nothing that says you can’t practice what you love and strive to improve your skills.

Having a college degree can go a long way toward getting the career of your choice, but I found out it doesn’t have to be the end of your dreams if you never got the opportunity to finish school. Life gives us endless chances to learn and grow. And working for BKA has taught me about an endless variety of subjects, which was an unexpected bonus of working for the company!

That little green monster of envy and poor self-esteem still shows his face sometimes, but now I know how to keep him under control. One of these days I’ll be able to get my degree, but for now I can focus on being happy that I’m doing what I love and learning something new every day.

-by Kristin Baker