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... and why they're totally not true.
By Shelby Henderson — Written on Oct 19, 2021
Relationships can be messy. And sometimes we enter into one thinking this will be great and that your partner can do no wrong. But the reality is, after the honeymoon stage has come and gone, your partner will start to show his true colors.
While some people are ready and mature enough for a relationship, there are plenty who shouldn’t be in a relationship ... for a while. But we also have to remember that it’s OK for men (and women) to not be ready for a relationship this very second of their life.
It’s even more important to know that their immaturity does not mean that you aren’t good enough, but when you do feel that way, these not good enough quotes will help you feel less alone.
59 Not Good Enough Quotes For When You Feel Less Than You Are
1. “Nothing will knock you down quicker than offering the best of yourself to someone and it still not being good enough.” — M.W Poetry
Take time to open up to people. You'll find some don't deserve you.
2. “I felt so much, that I started to feel nothing.” — Unknown
Feeling inadequate can be too much pressure.
3. “I stopped talking about how I felt because I knew no one cared anyway.” — Unknown
Someone will care.
4. “I guess I’m just not good enough for anyone. I can’t make anyone stay. I’m not even good enough for an explanation.” — Unknown
You are good enough. They just didn't realize it.
5. “I’m sorry that nothing I do is good enough.” — Unknown
Never apologize for something that isn't true.
6. “She questioned her own beauty because of him he left scars on her self esteem…” — r.h. sin
Your beauty is within you.
7. “And if you don’t like me, as I do you; I understand. Because who would really choose a daisy, in a field of roses?” — Unknown
I would!
8. “I’m sorry I’m not what you wanted.” — Unknown
We are not here to be wanted, we are here to be loved. There's a difference.
9. “At your absolute best, you still won’t be good enough for the wrong person.” — Unknown
You are good enough for anyone; some just won't see it. And that's their fault.
10. “If I asked you to name all the things you love, how long would it take to name yourself?” — Unknown
A human flaw.
11. “Sweetheart, the right guy will make you a priority. If you find yourself feeling like you’re not good enough, it’s because he’s not good enough.” — Steve Maraboli
Truth!
12. “Stop looking for happiness in the place you lost it.” — Unknown
You should never have to feel those bad feelings ever again.
13. “I think the worst feeling in the world knowing that someone you used to talk to every day doesn’t care about you anymore.” — Unknown
Well then, they aren't worth thinking about anymore.
14. “I am learning to love the sound of my feet walking away from things not meant for me.” — AG
It's a beautiful cadence of freedom!
15. “The way you speak of yourself / the way you degrade yourself / into smallness / is abuse.” — Rupi Kaur
Be kinder to yourself.
16. “I can’t even explain how I feel anymore, my thoughts are so messed up in my head that I don’t even understand them.” — Unknown
Maybe because you never did anything wrong in the first place.
17. “Rejection doesn’t mean you aren’t good enough; it means the other person failed to notice what you have to offer.” — Unknown
Amen!
18. “My problem wasn't not being good enough. My problem was thinking I had to be.” — Unknown
You don't have to be good enough for a person who was never good enough for you.
19. “Self-doubt is the anchor that keeps our ships from sailing.” — Unknown
Reel in that anchor!
20. “Don’t allow someone to make you feel like you’re not good enough.” — Unknown
You are good enough.
21. "The person that tries to keep everyone happy often ends up feeling the loneliest." — Unknown
Can't please everyone.
22. "Sometimes all you can do is lie in your bed, and hope to fall asleep before you fall apart." — Unknown
But the morning always brings new possibilities.
23. "Who do you turn to when the only person in the world that can stop you from crying is exactly the one making you cry?" — Unknown
You can always be that person to make yourself happy.
24. "Tears are the words the heart can't say." — Unknown
But they don't have to be the only words.
25. "I don't think people understand how stressful it is to explain what's going on in your head when you don't even understand it yourself." — Unknown
But you can get help no matter how confusing it is.
26. "I hate that I'm still hoping." — Unknown
But hope is always stronger than fear.
27. "Today I realized you don't care anymore. And then I realized, you probably never did anyway. And the saddest part of it all is that you made me believe you did." — Unknown
But you can be your own support system, you are strong enough.
28. "The worst feeling ever is when you're crying in silence because you don't want anyone to know you are." — Unknown
Don't be afraid to ask for help.
29. "Today my forest is dark. The trees are sad and all the butterflies have broken wings." — Unknown
You can be the light that brightens it all.
30. "Who hurt you? My own expectations." — Unknown
Expectations do not dictate you.
31. "It's not always just the heart. Sometimes you mind breaks as well." — r.h. Sin
But it is never fully broken.
32. "When she is happy she can't stop talking. When she is sad, she doesn't say a word." — Unknown
Sad doesn't have to be forever.
33. "Sick of crying, tired of trying, yes I'm smiling but inside I'm dying." — Unknown
It doesn't have to be that way.
34. "Have you ever been so sad that it physically hurts inside?" — Unknown
You can get help to make yourself feel better.
35. "Sometimes all you can do is smile. Move on with your day, hold back the tears, and pretend you're okay." — Unknown
You can find help and you can be really okay.
36. "Everywhere I look, someone is telling me, 'You're not good enough,' or, 'You can't do this or that.' You can only hear that so many times before enough is enough." — Baker Mayfield
37. "The worst thing about that kind of prejudice... is that while you feel hurt and angry and all the rest of it, it feeds you self-doubt. You start thinking, perhaps I am not good enough." — Nina Simone
38. "I did the best I could, and in some arenas, my best was not good enough." — Amy Grant
39. "Shame is the most powerful, master emotion. It's the fear that we're not good enough." — Brené Brown
40. "Don't let anyone tell you that you're not good enough. Don't let anyone tell you that you're too short, you're too fat, you're too thin, you're too ugly - that's nonsense." — Bradley Walsh
41. "Every time I looked in the mirror, it was like, 'You're not good enough.' 'There's always someone more popular.'" — Brian Welch
42. "Silly me, thinking I was good enough." — Unknown
43. “Being good enough never is.” — Debbi Fields
44. “Above all else, never think you’re not good enough.” — Anthony Trollope
45. “When people tell you’re not good enough, don’t mind them.” — Toni Gonzaga
46. “Just doing as well as you did last time is not good enough.” — Michael Jackson
47. “I am learning to love the sound of my feet walking away from things not meant for me.” — AG
48. “And it is easy to believe you are not good enough if you listen to everybody else.” — Mackenzie Astin
49. “It’s a lie to think you’re not good enough. It’s a lie to think you’re not worth anything.” — Nick Vujicic
50. “We are afraid of failure, of ridicule, of being rejected. We are afraid we’re not good enough.” — Rhonda Britten
51. “All you can do is all you can do… If all you can do, is still not good enough, then go do something else.” — Bradford Winters
52. “Don’t let anyone make you feel like you’re not good enough, smart enough, or cool enough. Do your own thing.” — Benji Madden
53. “We start to feel not good enough and we withdraw our hearts energy and sensor our authentic expression, and that hurts!” — Agapi Stassinopoulos
54. “Never do they hurt your feelings or make you feel like you are not good enough, but rather they build you up and show you the things about yourself that make you special and even beautiful.” — Bob Marley
55. “Sometimes things go wrong, even when you’re doing your best. That just shows that none of us are perfect. So I keep trying with all of my heart, and if that’s not good enough, I’m not going to hang my head.” — Luis Tiant
56. “Good enough is never good enough.” — Alfred Bertram Guthrie
57. "Do not let anyone tell you that you are not good enough or smart enough. Remember that nobody is better than you. Everybody puts on their pants one leg at a time." — Farrah Gray
58. “You are not your mistakes: they are what you did, not who you are.” — Lisa Lieberman-Wang
59. “Not nice enough. Not pretty enough. Not thin enough. Not talented enough. Not stable enough. Not calm enough. Just not enough.” — Unknown
Why will I never be good enough for him?
We would all much rather pick ourselves apart and bring ourselves down than admit that we picked a bad apple for a boyfriend. And while it’s completely valid to have sad thoughts about ourselves, it’s important to know that a breakup is not a result of “not being good enough.”
It’s much more complicated than that, and more than likely has more to do with the guy’s issues than yours.
When taking a step back from the situation, you’ll find a couple of things to be true: Your grieving process will most likely start with lots of crying and some hurtful thoughts that put the blame on you.
After you cry a lot, you will start to replay his actions through your head. Slowly you will come to see that he had some issues of his own.
If you begin to put blame on yourself because of who you are then the relationship wasn’t worth it in the first place.
No one, and I mean absolutely no one, should be making you feel like you are not good enough for them. Girl, you were too much greatness for him to handle and he was too cowardly to admit it.
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Shelby Henderson is a frequent contributor to YourTango.