There is nothing to be achieved. Life is not an achievement, it is a gift. It has already been given. For what are you waiting? The door is open, and the host has already invited you. Come in! — Osho

My mind sometimes trips me up. It makes me feel bad for no good reasons. Especially when I don’t get done what I aimed for. And even if I get it done, it still won’t be enough. I should do more. I should feel happier. I should live differently from how I’m living.

My mind tells me that I am not good enough.

I don’t know. But maybe you know this feeling. No matter what you do, something inside you tells you it’s not enough. And it pulls you down.

Long story short, I find that Osho’s texts help me deal with that (he was an Indian spiritual teacher, google). So, I put together some quotes from the book Living on Your Own Terms — What Is Real Rebellion?

I find them helpful and thought you might, too.

Stupid idea: you are unworthy

The society has been telling you continuously, persistently, day in, day out, from your very childhood — in the school, in the college, in the university, in the church, the priest, the politician, the parent, the professor — they are all joined together to give you the idea that as you are, you are unworthy. That you have to do something, that you have to prove yourself, then only will you be worthy. Slowly, slowly the idea settles, sinks deep in your heart, becomes almost your second nature, that just to be is not enough. Trees are enough, animals are enough, birds are enough — only man has this stupid idea that just to be is not enough. We are giving people ideals and saying, “Unless you fulfill these ideals you will never be worthy.” And those ideals are impossible. We are giving people ideas of being perfect. And once the idea of being perfect enters in one’s being, it turns us into a neurotic.

For me, this is true. I don’t know where that feeling of not being enough comes from, and it does not matter. It is there and affects my way of living.

Egoistic race: you feel you need to be approved

Everybody is an egoist… Nobody is there in the world to fulfill your ego; everybody is trying to fulfill his own. Who has time to fulfill your ego? And if sometimes somebody fulfills your ego, he must be fulfilling it as a means to fulfill his own.

Basically, everybody is interested in himself. As you are interested in yourself, others are interested in themselves. Just become aware of this.

Everybody is trying to compete, and in this competition, in this egoistic, ambitious race, one is destroying all that is beautiful… Everybody is asking others, begging: “Approve of me! Say something that gives me a good feeling about myself.” Hence, flattery works. Hence, everybody can deceive you just by flattering you.

And people go on doing things that they never wanted to do, but they go on doing them because that is the only way they can get the approval of others. Everybody is distracted from his destiny because others are looking, and they have a fixed idea as to how to approve of you. You are asking from others like a beggar: “Approve of me!” — and they are also beggars just like you… Just a little alertness and one drops all begging. And with that, ambition drops, ego drops. One starts living.

We’re all in this together, and yet, it seems, everybody is fighting for himself. Everybody needs to have his ego jar filled up. Otherwise he feels miserable.

I like how Osho puts it: we are all beggars. We all want our needs fulfilled, and to get there, we need the approval of others.

Let that sink.

Because we are unworthy we need the approval of others to feel worthy. And because everybody is in that same boat, everybody feels the same and is constantly looking for approval. Beggars are asking beggars for approval.

At the root of this circus: the idea that you are not enough.

The exit door: the understanding that as you are, you are enough.

And the key lies in acceptance.

Accept yourself, you are already perfect

People go on wasting their time and life and energy. There is no need! In fact, as you are, you are perfect. Nothing is to be added to you. Accept yourself as you are… Because whenever you accept, you are no longer divided; the split disappears. The split is between you and the should, between you and the ought. Accept you limitations, accept your imperfections. That’s what it means to be a human being! And accept yourself as you are — with joy, not in helplessness. Because existence accepts you — this is my basic teaching — existence accepts you, so accept yourself; love yourself.

Why are we here? And how did we get here? And why on earth would we get here not being enough?

Remember, trees are enough, animals are enough, birds are enough — only man should not be enough? This doesn’t make sense. A man is a man. A woman is a woman. We are humans. And it’s how Rag ’n’ Bone Man sings: I’m only human. And that’s enough. There’s no superpower to be earned. Or at best, it may lie in the acceptance of yourself.

What are you waiting for? — Start living

Dance, while you are alive. Breathe blissfully while you are alive. Sing while you are alive. Love, meditate, while you are alive. Share your joy, your love, your ecstasy. Make life as beautiful as possible. Just out of thankfulness that existence has chosen you to be, that you are allowed to be, that you are given life. What else can you do? If you can sing a song, sing it with your totality! If you can paint, paint, and put your whole heart in it. If you can dance, dance to abandon so you disappear completely in the dance and there is no more any dancer but only the dance remains.

Start living. You don’t need to be approved by anybody. You are enough just the way you are (to quote another song).

What are you waiting for?