You Don’t Have to Overprove Yourself
For much of my life, I have felt the need to overcompensate. Living with a disability shaped that instinct early on the quiet question always lingering beneath the surface: Am I doing enough? I pushed myself to work harder, give more, and prove that I was capable. Over time, overproving became normal. It felt safer to exceed expectations than to risk being underestimated.
Now, at 57 years old, my body is teaching me something different. Strength is no longer about pushing past every limit. It’s about listening. I notice this not only in myself, but also in my coaching. I can see how easily I might encourage a client to stretch toward the edge of their capacity and how important it is to recognize where growth ends and exhaustion begins.
Many of my clients are neurodivergent and are learning to create boundaries that protect their minds and energy. In their moments of discovery, I find myself rediscovering my own. Their courage to pause, to say “this is enough for today,” becomes an invitation for me to honor my own limits too. Boundaries are not barriers to success; they are pathways to sustainability, clarity, and peace.
So here is the reminder I am holding close this February: you do not have to keep proving yourself. You do not have to overcompensate to be worthy. You can only control what is in front of you right now and often, that is enough. When we release the need to overprove, we make space for something deeper than achievement. We make space for rest, for honesty, and for a quieter kind of strength.
