5 Little Pep Talks for People Who Beat Themselves Up

If you’re having a bad day, let me remind you: you’re doing a good enough job

All illustrations by the author.

Let me start with a confession: my feelings are bigger than normal people’s feelings. I have to buy all my feelings-related products in the Plus-Sized section.

Sometimes I want to go on a Feelings Diet to shrink my gargantuan emotions, but it never works. I am addicted to crying in bed, and I always end up back there. The thing is, as an adult, I would like to be able to do this without beating myself up for it.

So every week, I write myself a letter to remind myself that I’m doing a good enough job. I write it in second-person, as though I am a “you.” Below, you’ll find five of these letters / pep talks; and, if you want, you can subscribe to my newsletter; I send these out every week!

You are just one animal.

It can be hard to remember sometimes that you are only one animal. You’re not the whole species; you’re not responsible for all the other animals; you’re just one animal, and your only actual job is to stay alive. Stay alive, and I would add, be gentle to other humans.

Other animals seem to be good at knowing this about themselves. Cats sleep when they feel like sleeping; they…