I am enough.

That phrase keeps coming to me lately. It rises in my meditation. I see it in my Instagram feed. It jumps out at me in the book I’m reading.

But what does it mean?

When I turned my life upside down to move to Portugal, I wondered if I would be enough for me. Would I be content with myself an ocean away from family and friends? What would I do if I discovered I really wasn’t enough for myself? Would I like me?

Sometimes people feel that changing location will change who they are. That’s not true. Changing location can give you a different perspective, but you remain you. Wherever you go, there you are.

That time away, and the months leading up to it, gave me time to really think about a lot of things – mainly myself.

We are conditioned throughout our lives to fit into various boxes: daughter, sister, girlfriend, wife, mother, employee. As we grow and age, we may add other titles: boss, volunteer, mentor. We may choose a profession or avocation: artist, musician, engineer, doctor, journalist.

But at the heart of it, we are who we are. And that’s a work in progress. We are more than the labels we or others apply. And who we are is always changing, if we desire and take the steps to change.

I found after I moved to Portugal that I did like myself and I enjoyed my own company. During the months I was there, I spent a lot of time alone. It was freeing to only have myself as my focus. I could do what I wanted, when I wanted, without needing to ask permission or figure out how it would affect someone else. If I wanted, I could change my mind and immediately go a different direction. For someone who always worked off of a lot of schedules, it was liberating.

During my time there, I found I was enough for myself. (Not to let you think I had no friends and totally lived as a hermit, let me say I did make lifelong friends while I was there, and I can’t wait to go back and see them!)

Stepping back into a shell of my former life, however, brings back memories and old habits. Often enough, I am questioning myself about what I’m doing and why I’m doing it.

My easy answer is because I feel like my family needs me, my kids in particular. Is it more than that? Is it easy for me to fall back into a Mystique-shaped hole in central Wisconsin? Apparently so.

Which may be why I’m questioning myself.

And now I’m finding my answer again: I am enough.

I am enough for me. For my family, for my life, for my choices. I am enough, and I’ve always been enough. Moving to Portugal didn’t change that, it just helped me realize it.

No matter where I am, there I am, and I am enough.

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How to Be a Better Writer Tip

Use your moments

I started this column about 10 minutes before a work call. That phrase, “I am enough,” had risen yet again in my mind, and with my laptop open, waiting for 10 a.m. to connect, I decided to start writing.

If you’re at all like me, you probably like to have plenty of time set aside to write. It’s always nice to have a chunk of time to get into a project. But that’s not always feasible, is it? Truthfully, it’s a lot more difficult for me these days, too. (Which is part of the reason I’ve been posting fewer columns.)

Rather than fritter away those few minutes today, I felt compelled to write something, even if it was just the start of a column. Even if it never turned into anything. (A lot of what I write goes that route.)

Ten minutes later, I was 300 words into this column. I came back after dinner and finished it.

If I had not used those 10 minutes, I wouldn’t have this column. So don’t shy away from the minutes you have. Use the time you spend waiting in line, waiting for a call, waiting for your next appointment. Even a few minutes can prove successful if you use it to write, work toward a goal or pursue a passion.