Good enough?!

If you have to ask if you're good enough then the answer is no. DO NOT say those words out loud. You are good enough. Okay, you may be thinking that it depends on what the subject is. That doesn't matter either. Growing up in the 70s and 80s, I lived through the super-model era. Many of us have embossed on our brain what was once considered the gold standard of beauty and success. We all want to feel successful at anything and everything we choose to do. I always wanted to be athletic and/or successful at a sport. I can't say I was necessarily successful, but I was good enough. Running track/cross country in high school and attempting to run in college, I have a little experience in this area.

Don't get me wrong. There are no cross country records in my name, but I was enough. There were teammates who would run inside the track along with me just for encouragement. Looking back, I can see how many would think that could be sad, but it didn't feel that way at the time. I became empowered. I had friends and people who cared about my success. And it was success. I continued and ran a little in college. Eventually the powers at be determined it could be a liability for a one-lunged person to pursue collegiate athletics. It didn't go down that smoothly. Understandably, I was upset, but I was enough. Good enough? I guess that depends on what rubric I'm using for measurement. Good enough to hang with the cool kids and be treated equally? Hell yes. I had to pivot. Evolved into a successful collegiate intramural experience.

Obviously a full healthy respiratory system is needed to push your body to a competitive level. Here's the thing, though, everyone has a different level. Good enough is when I've pushed my body to my limit. That wasn't learned over night. I continued to pursue the physical limits of my body. I went to graduate school and worked in the fitness industry for years. Even taught aerobics.

It took many years and doctors to help me discover a low blood oxygen level can and would cause me headaches. Migraines actually. If you're pulse ox ever gets below 85-87%, I promise you'll get a headache too. Mine seems to drop with activity. That's okay. I've learned to live with it. Not just live with it, but live with it successfully.

My oxygen level may drop, but I have a portable machine I can use now to raise it. As I write this I can see how someone might think this is crazy talk. It's not. I have no desire to walk the catwalk or be an Olympian, but I have found things I like to do. Since the pandemic, I've discovered I like to dance. It's /cardiovascular exercise in limited bursts. And I'm getting better. No, Rihanna hasn't called and asked to be in one of her videos, but I have danced with gals who danced with the queen herself in the Superbowl a couple of years ago. There has not been one dancer in the PHX/LA area who has scoffed or acted like I don't belong. Or like I'm not enough. It' completely the opposite. The have all been inclusive and welcoming and treat me as an equal. I've been in many fitness arenas where that wasn't the case.

So many wonder why can I use my air sometimes and not others. I can go without the air. It's not like I'm going to die. And, FYI, we're all dying everyday. The bigger trick is to remember to live. We're all enough to live. We all have our own individually unique definition of success. There's only one Cindy Crawford and only one Rihanna, but there's also only one of me...and you.

It's taken almost 54 years, but I've learned I'm good enough to hang with the cool kids. Even dance with them. I'm more than enough. Good enough with an exclamation mark. No question.

It just so happened that I heard, "Am I good enough," from a loved one. My reply was, "Don't say those words out loud." We are all good enough for whatever we choose. Your good enough may not entail a couple of hits of 02, but it's uniquely you. We all have different paths with crooks and turns on our way to finding success. In life, living is the only rubric that matters. That's what makes us BABs.

Do not despair. Not everyone is badass enough to dance with portable oxygen. You will find yours. I believe it. So should you. You are good enough.

Now go live!