You are Enough, with Andrea Markusich

Welcome!! To connect or become a client, visit catiaholm.com or call/text 956-249-7930. 

In this episode we talk about the quiet ways perfectionism and approval-seeking shape our lives, then practice a kinder truth: we are already enough. Andrea Markusich shares how “enoughness” can change parenting, emotional regulation, and the way we show up at home, school, and work. 

• perfectionism linked to anxiety, depression, and burnout 
• self-compassion as the antidote, not more striving 
• Andrea’s turning point and the creation of The Enough Company 
• approval and validation as a hidden driver of overdoing 
• boundaries that protect alignment and family time 
• Ivy The Snail as a tool for teaching comparison and jealousy 
• jealousy as a messenger that points toward growth 
• sitting with hard emotions instead of projecting them outward 
• parenting without fixing, holding a safe container for big feelings 
• tending to our inner child before responding to a child’s pain 
• affirmation bandages as tiny moments of connection and healing 
• school murals that support emotional intelligence and regulation 

Show Guest:

Andrea is the founder of The Enough Company, a heart-centered initiative devoted to helping children, parents, and schools remember that we are already worthy of love and belonging.

She’s a Certified Conscious Parenting Coach and a Certified Soul Psychology Coach, and her work grew not from a childhood dream but from her own lived experience of feeling not enough—and the exhaustion that comes from constantly trying to prove our worth.

Through workshops, classroom visits, creative projects, and her book featuring the lovable character Ivy the Snail (buy book on Amazon), Andrea helps children explore big emotions like jealousy, comparison, and shyness with compassion rather than shame.

She also created one of the most creative ideas I’ve seen in a long time: affirmation bandages.

Because when children get hurt, that moment of care can become a moment of connection.

A message right on their arm reminding them:

You are loved. You are enough.

Andrea also spends time connecting with families and reflecting on parenting with her adult children—something she describes as one of the most meaningful seasons of life. You can connect with Andrea on Instagram at The Enough Company or at her website, The Enough Company. 

Transcript

Welcome To Couch Time With Kat

Speaker 1 0:00

Welcome to Couch Time with Cat, your safe place for real conversation and a gentle check-in.

Why Enoughness Matters

Perfectionism And Self-Compassion Research

Speaker 0:06

KWVH presents Couch Time with Cat. Hi friends, and welcome to Couch Time with Cat, Mental Wellness with a Friendly Voice. I'm Cat, therapist, bestselling author, TEDx speaker, and endurance athlete. But most of all, I'm a wife, mama, and someone who deeply believes that people are good and healing is possible. Here in the Hill Country of Wimberley, Texas, I've built my life and practice around one purpose: to make mental wellness feel accessible, compassionate, and real. This show is for those moments when life feels heavy, when you're craving clarity, or when you just need to hear you're not alone. Each week we'll explore the terrain of mental wellness through stories, reflections, research, and tools you can bring into everyday life. Think of it as a conversation between friends, rooted in science, guided by heart, and grounded in the belief that healing does not have to feel clinical. It can feel like sitting on a couch with someone who gets it. So whether you're driving, walking, cooking, or simply catching your breath, you're welcome here. This is your space to feel seen, supported, and reminded of your own strength. I'm so glad you're here. Let's dive in. What if the quiet pressure you carry every day, the voice that says, try harder, do more, be better, was never the truth about you? What if the real work is remembering something you've always been? Enough? Today we're talking about perfection, parenting, tenderness, and the courage it takes to stop striving and start belonging. Stay with us. There's a moment in many of our lives when we first realize we're trying to earn love. Maybe it happens in childhood, maybe it happens later, when we're adults juggling careers, families, expectations, and quietly wondering why we still feel like we're falling short. We try harder, we perform more, we become the good student, the high achiever, the perfect parent, the person who keeps everything together. But somewhere deep inside, a quieter question lives. What if I'm already enough? Not after I accomplish something, not after I fix myself, not after I become someone better, but right now, exactly as I am. Today's conversation lives inside that question. Because our guest has built her work around one powerful word. Enough. Through books, school visits, parenting conversations, and creative tools that bring compassion directly into everyday moments. She's helping families remember something many of us forgot along the way. That our worth isn't something we earn, it's something we return to. And sometimes the path back begins in the smallest, most ordinary moments. Like a child with a scraped knee and a parent kneeling down to meet them with love. You're listening to Couch Time with Cat. I'm Cat, and today we're talking about the power of enough, releasing perfection and learning how gentle changes along the way can change how we show up for ourselves and our families. Before we bring in our guest, I want to ground this conversation in something both psychological and deeply personal. Research in psychology tells us that perfectionism is strongly linked to anxiety, depression, and burnout. In fact, studies from researchers like Dr. Brene Brown and Dr. Kristen Neff show that the antidote to perfectionism is not working harder. It's self-compassion. Self-compassion has three core components kindness toward ourselves when we struggle, recognizing that imperfection is part of being human, and staying present with our emotions rather than avoiding them is very important. And here's the beautiful part. When people practice self-compassion, they don't become lazy or complacent like many of us fear. We actually become more resilient, more motivated, and more emotionally regulated. Because when shame disappears, growth becomes possible. Which is exactly the heart of today's conversation. Today's guest is someone doing beautiful work in the world, helping people reconnect with that truth. Andrea Markusich is the founder of The Enough Company, a heart-centered initiative devoted to helping children, parents, and schools remember that we are already worthy of love and belonging. She's a certified conscious parenting coach and a certified soul psychology coach. And her work grew not from a childhood dream, but from her own lived experience of feeling not enough and the exhaustion that comes from constantly trying to prove our worth. Through workshops, classroom visits, creative projects, and her book featuring the lovable character Ivy the Snail, Andrea helps children explore big emotions like jealousy, comparison, and shyness with compassion rather than shame. She also created one of the most creative ideas I've seen in a long time and adore affirmation bandages. Because when children get hurt, that moment of care can become a moment of connection, a message right on their arm reminding them that they are loved, they are safe, and they are enough. And she is my friend. Hi, welcome to Couch Time with Cat.

Andrea’s Origin Story Of Enough

Speaker 1 6:19

Hi, thank you for having me. I'm so excited to be here and to see you.

Speaker 6:23

Oh my gosh. Hi, friend. Tell us where are we finding you in the world today?

Speaker 1 6:29

I am near Toronto, Canada.

Speaker 6:32

Oh, what's the weather like there?

Speaker 1 6:35

It spring is coming, and we've had a lot of snow, a lot of cold weather. I'm ready for spring.

Speaker 6:42

You are. Yeah, really ready. Spring popped here this weekend. The flowers are blooming. It feels a little early, but the trees are blooming and there's a sweetness in the air. It smells so good outside. Oh, beautiful. Yeah. So can we start with your story a little bit?

Speaker 1 7:02

Yeah, sure.

Speaker 7:03

Okay. So the story of Enough, it wasn't uh it wasn't just a business plan. It came from a personal place. Can you tell us a little bit about the moment you realized that enough was something you wanted to orbit around?

Speaker 1 7:20

Yeah, so I am a doer. I'm a really busy doer. And I found myself one night feeling like I didn't get through my to-do list. I actually went had a bath and then I got my journal, and I was just journaling, and I wrote, Will I ever feel enough? Like I'm I'm so tired. And even once I finish the project I was working on at that time, I'm sure there's gonna be something else that I pile on. And it was like so emotional to be writing this, and then I thought I read back what I wrote, and honestly, it was like a message that wasn't just mine, it was like it came to me, and I was and I had never I had thought about like I was you know how kids write little books and staple them together. I have done that, like I remember doing that as a kid, but I was always the illustrator. I always imagined being the artist. And just as I read this back, I thought, I don't know, it was like this moment where it was like, this is not just my message, and I want to turn this into something, and it turned into this Ivy the Snail Finds She's Enough book. I wrote, I I wrote the book, went back and forth, I didn't illustrate it, and then I hid because I was actually like I don't feel enough, even though this book was out there.

Speaker 9:04

I really resisted the message at first wow, so you were trying to share the message, and then you thought, I'm not actually believing what I'm sharing. Is that what you're saying?

Speaker 1 9:18

Yeah, yeah. So it was interesting that I chose a snail because a snail has a shell and I literally disappeared again. Like I I at first this book then became another thing that I had to like produce, get out there, do, and then I I thought, no, this is more of the same, it's just in a new form. And so I I let myself really hide for about six months, and I was actually on someone else's podcast, and it was after that podcast that I thought, I am a hypocrite. I'm sitting here saying everybody's enough, you're born worthy, everybody deserves unconditional love. But I don't, my life is not aligned with that. So that just started having me look at the layers more.

Speaker 10:17

Sometimes we are driven to perfectionism because we think we're not enough. So let's just say on a test, if you get a hundred, then that's when you feel enough. A 90 is not enough. But some of us feel and some of us feel like we have to get a hundred in every aspect of our lives, or else we're not enough. Was that was that something that was driving you?

Speaker 1 10:50

So I don't relate to the academic bit because I've never never I haven't done a hundred percent, I haven't been an academic at that level. So, which could be part of my feeling of enoughness, if we that's a whole nother rabbit hole. But for me, it was like I felt like everything I was doing was to get approval or to um like I'm a full-grown adult, and there were times when I'm still finding myself seeing if my parents think I'm enough, right?

Speaker 11:31

Yes, I understand that. Yeah, that they're they're they're out of girls or their pride in you, or their approval or validation, any of those things together feel like okay, somebody sees me and somebody approves, and they're applauding me and they think I'm good.

Speaker 1 11:50

Yeah. And I would be really energized by compliments and approval that would really energize me, and at times it would take me off track because it was like, oh, I'm getting this approval. Oh, I want more of that. And subtly what I was doing was actually abandoning my own truth, right? So I realize in this journey I'm a lot simpler, I want a very simple life. Like even this, even this brand has become like interesting to people, and I also feel very protective. Like I don't want to become a huge entrepreneur. I I want to play games with my kids after dinner and really have nothing in my mind that oh, I gotta get to this now. I did a lot of that when they were younger, like that striving. Um, so I don't know if I'm answering your question.

Speaker 12:55

No, I think that that's beautiful. I think that gives a lot of insight. It sounds to me at least, it sounds like you've created you've created this enough company. And you wrote about Ivy the Snail, which I'm gonna ask about in a little bit. And also you're holding really strong boundaries so that you stay in alignment. You want this message to be out there, but you don't want to be swallowed up by it, and you don't want to then get taken away by the tide, so to speak, of approval and followers and likes and the river that most of us swim in.

Speaker 1 13:34

Yes. So even doing book readings in schools, I allocate one day a week to that, and I give them my all in that one day. Beautiful, and that's my commitment. One day, one day a week.

Speaker 13:46

That's beautiful.

Speaker 1 13:47

That's exactly what you're saying. You know, instead of just, oh, let's book me up, book me up, and then I'll be exhausted and take Advil because I'll be tired and you know, headache. No, now I'm really listening to my body. I want to serve, I do think this is an important message, and I come first.

Speaker 14:06

That's a be that's so great. I think that that is where most of us are are trying to get to. So I'm glad you've arrived.

Speaker 1 14:14

I think that that's well, no, not always.

Approval Seeking And Strong Boundaries

Speaker 14:17

Well, but I think that that's very hopeful. And um for people like me, I am absolutely a striver. Um, and I do think that I have boundaries, but I know that I strive and I know that I sleep less than I should. And I know that I sneak in things here and there, and I know I take Edvil when I'm tired. So I can see I can see myself in your example. Can you tell us a little about a little bit about Ivy the snail? Tell us about her.

Ivy The Snail And Comparison

Speaker 1 14:53

Yeah, so first of all, how when you introduced me, you said I was a soul psychology certified coach. Yes. So that's from uh Susie Lula's program, and her logo is a spiral, because the idea is that we kind of we are always returning to an original place, and when we're doing this inner work, we're we're returning to it with an elevated consciousness all the time, right? So our life is kind of going in cycles, and we're sort of becoming more aware as we go, hopefully. So immediately I liked the idea of a snail because it represented that spiral. Um really, I say when I'm in classrooms, this is kind of like my inner child story. I never felt like I was enough. I was a super shy child. Every time I go into these classrooms, I get the somatic experiences that I'm in danger, like heart racing, my mouth gets dry. I have all those reactions to being in a group and speaking publicly, and I actually talk about that with the kids and say, you know, these are feelings, these are real feelings that could actually stop me. And there's also another part of me that wants to spread this message, so I have access to being brave, and I bring that bravery with me, even when my heart is racing, even when I'm afraid, you know, to be the new person in the classroom, because I always am. And we go through the story, and I just explain how Ivy compares herself. She could this little snail compares herself to the butterflies, and then I say, like, can snails fly? No, they can't. So Ivy's looking at this butterfly, wishing, why can't I fly? And you know, this was another thing that I think is a very human condition, but comparison. And when we compare and see someone, we can feel less than, or we can feel jealous, and instead of actually saying, You it's not cool to be jealous, right? So you don't go up to someone and say, I'm so jealous of you. You know, usually what we do is I don't like you, I don't like you, and I might even talk about you badly to someone else to bring me, to make me think I'm gonna feel better. So I share about these experiences of you know, comparing myself to others, feeling that feeling of jealousy, and I feel like jealousy is actually a really powerful messenger because it's like if you're feeling jealous or you're comparing yourself to another student in the class, or us as adults, even what is that shiny person doing that I'm feeling I can't do? Maybe I can, and maybe they're showing me the way, and it's actually a beautiful way to grow, is by bringing that self-compassion to that part of us that has the feeling that maybe we don't want to have. That's actually really giving us a powerful message.

Befriending Hard Emotions

Speaker 18:16

I love that you don't try to eliminate the hard emotions, but you just sit with them. And listener, I'm scrunching up my face right now because sitting with hard emotions is difficult. I do this for a living, and sometimes I'm watching somebody sit in a difficult emotion in session, and sometimes I'm having a difficult emotion and they're having a difficult emotion, and it's like, oh my goodness, it's just makes my stomach churn. But there's so much power, even when that's happening. That happened this week in session, and I just named it. I was like, this is really uncomfortable, isn't it? And they were like, Yeah, just two adults being uncomfortable together, not yelling, not reacting, just admitting to that discomfort and vulnerability is really hard. So I think the fact that you're teaching these kiddos to sit with those emotions and to name them and that you are brave enough to share that with them. That's so generous of you that you walk into their classroom and say, I'm feeling this way also. Have you ever felt this way? Or I'm feeling this way. Have you ever felt this way? I think that that's such a beautiful invitation for them to be a little bit more self-aware. Listener, hi, this is Couch Time with Cat. I'm Cat, and today we're talking about releasing perfection and remembering our enoughness with Andrea from the Enough Company. So, Andrea going to the next step. So we're with the emotions. Why is it important, do you think, to befriend the emotions or the messengers instead of hiding them?

Speaker 1 20:16

I feel like when we sit with them, these are our opportunities to get to know ourselves better. And when we avoid them, we're actually bypassing a beautiful opportunity that probably will return in a different form and maybe get louder and louder. And sometimes I do ignore them. I actually had a moment this morning with my husband. I woke up and read an email that got me a little frazzled, and then I went and had coffee with him. And about an hour into us sitting having coffee, I noticed myself um being critical in my mind towards him, being critical, like just judging him and getting a little like irritated. And then I thought, wow, slow this down for a minute. He's not done anything here, but I couldn't handle a feeling I had in me that was I'm not enough. It was actually something that came in an email, and it was like, I gotta get that done. So it deflected it. I think in psychology, it's a cognitive dissonance. You were you push it onto someone else, or is that right? I don't know.

Speaker 21:40

We'll go with it.

Speaker 1 21:42

Okay, and then immediately it's like hot potato.

Speaker 21:45

You're hot potatoing the pain. You're saying, I don't want to deal with this. Here, you take it.

Speaker 1 21:50

Yeah, and then all of a sudden he's like, I can see him, he's the bad person, right? And that is not the type of part. I want to be. It's not the type of we do this to our with this projection, like we do this to our kids, our our coworkers. And really, that deflection is a missed opportunity for me because all that part of me needs is some compassion and love. It's just like a severed part of me that's like, wait, I need to recollect that piece and give myself love.

Parenting Big Feelings Without Fixing

Speaker 22:23

And that's not always easy. No, it's certainly not, but you're so evolved that you can sit and be aware of that. Some of us go months and years projecting onto different people and blaming and persecuting and all these sorts of complicated things. And what happens is that when we don't sit and look at our emotions or feel them, there is so much collateral damage that it's just like emotional shrapnel that gets ejected from our hearts onto the people that we are with. And so I know I have felt that way. I don't remember if I felt that way as a child. I think as a child, I really held in the uncomfortable emotion. I don't think I had the skills or wherewithal to even know how to hot potato it away. I think I kind of swallowed it. How can parents, let's say that there's a kiddo experiencing jealousy or comparison or insecurity? How can parents respond differently when kids are expressing these feelings or when the parent thinks, ooh, I I don't know what that uncomfortable emotion is, but it's big. And how can a parent approach, let's say, a 10-year-old?

Speaker 1 23:53

So I feel like one thing that parents do with really big hearts is they try and fix the pain they see in a child, right? So, and we likely had that as a child. Oh, you're not, you're not happy. How can I make you happy? It's let me give you a cookie, or what do you need right now to feel better? What we learn as a child then is this is a scary feeling. Mom doesn't like it, or dad doesn't like it. So let's get up, get rid of it somehow. We'll distract you, fix it. And I, you know, I think cultivating that feeling for us of like allowing our child to have an uncomfortable feeling, and we create a safety. Your feelings don't scare me. Like a container big enough that they don't scare me. Tell me more, and and allow it, allow it, because then it won't scare them either. And they will, we all have our own wisdom, so we come to our own wisdom when there's a container of that safety. I feel like with children, it's that. And another thing about kids though, one thing I notice with my own kids, if I see that they have a struggle that maybe reminds me of a struggle I had when I was younger, my inner child is the one that needs tending to before I go and do anything over there.

Speaker 25:30

Tell me more about that. What does that mean your inner child needs tending to?

Speaker 1 25:36

So if I see an issue that my my signal to myself, if I see my son and he's struggling, and I'm like, I gotta, I gotta fix this. I know what that feels like to be whatever, right? First, where we need to go is oh, I just hit this is poking my old hurt again. Something in my past is being is being touched that I've been able to bury or avoid, right? So the work for me is to go and revisit that part of me that it needs more compassion, or else my container for him is gonna be so small, or I'm gonna try and fix it, make it solve it for him.

Affirmation Bandages And Tender Care

Speaker 26:27

Thank you for explaining that, listener. I want to invite you to think about right now what emotion did you learn growing up was not allowed? So maybe it was explicitly stated, you are not allowed to cry. Or you live a good life, you are not allowed to be sad or jealous. Sometimes it's the good lives that make it hard to feel bad emotions because you're so blessed, quote unquote. You have food in the fridge, your parents are relatively nice to you, you're safe. And so you look around and think, well, I shouldn't have darker emotions, or I shouldn't have complicated emotions because look at all these good things I have. And it's in that trying to reconcile that we get maybe even sometimes we get shame that we feel these dark or complicated or shadow emotions. And so we just say, Oh, we're not allowed to have them. Or maybe our parents tell us in one way or another, listen, you're not allowed to be upset because look at all the good things you have. And so we learn to really suppress them. So, listener, the invitation is to think about what emotion were you taught you were not allowed to have? Usually they are darker emotions. Maybe it's like a pettiness or jealousy or an anger or rage, even. And what would it feel like today to meet that part of yourself with curiosity and kindness instead of criticism or instead of turning away from it? So just notice what comes up. You don't have to fix anything, you're just having a sense of awareness that oh, it's really hard for me to feel anger. I remember I was probably in my mid-30s or late 30s when I realized I do not know how to access anger at all. I only knew how to access sadness. Sadness was allowed, but anger couldn't. I just couldn't, I didn't know, I didn't even know where to find it in my body, how to express it, because there were I just hadn't ever practiced feeling anger or doing anything with anger. So even though I'd get angry, my initial reaction would be to cry. And it took a lot of therapy for me to figure out why I am crying? Like, why can't I stand up for myself? Or why, you know, it was that curiosity. And so sometimes, listener, it takes practice. We don't know how to access these emotions. And so the first step is a sense of awareness, and then the second step is uh playing with it almost. Like you're getting to understand it and learn it and express it and then do something productive with it. You know, you can be anger can be a productive emotion, it doesn't have to be, you know, a scorch the earth situation, but you're learning how to move with that feeling instead of completely suppressing it. You're listening to Couch Time with Cat. I'm Cat, and today we're exploring gentleness and the truth that we are already enough with Andrea from the Enough Company. Andrea, I want to talk about one of my favorite things that you created: affirmation bandages. And I love this idea so much because it takes something ordinary and makes it a real point of connection and really allows parents and caregivers to lean into that moment. And can you tell us a little bit about why you started the affirmation bandages?

Speaker 1 30:33

Sure. So when my kids were small, I had realized, like in reflecting about their childhood, there was a lot of there were many moments where, especially one of my kids was asking for a band-aid, but I actually think he was asking for more attention. And I used to actually say to him, I don't even see blood on there. I don't even see a scratch. Like, you actually need a band-aid. We're going through these band-aids like crazy. You know, I would I started to become like a hoarder of my band-aid.

Speaker 31:10

I identify, yes.

Speaker 1 31:12

Yeah. So then as I was reflecting about not to make myself wrong, but just when your kids become adults, you start to see where you like to repair, where you'd like to bring more love. And it was in thinking about those moments where he wanted more attention. I just started to think, oh, what if a band-aid actually had a beautiful message? Like, I am loved, I am I am worthy. You can you thought of a good one today. I am safe. That'll be in my next collection. And I just realized, you know, I my clients for my murals and my books, like I'm working in school boards, and I just started to think about my own kids used to come to the office just so they could phone me, tell me, well, I kind of have a tummy, can you come pick me up, you know? And I just started to think about all the kids that just want a little bit of love. And I know teachers are doing a lot and the admin are doing a lot, and this just gives a little bit of love on the band-aid, a little bit of a beautiful message, and affirmations can be internalized. So if a child's sitting there in class and he has I believe in me written across his band-aid, and you know, thinks about putting up his hand or you know, anything like that in class, I just thought these are these are things that could actually be very healing in the moment for the the kids in schools.

School Murals For Emotional Skills

Speaker 32:55

It takes this tiny moment that doesn't really have any emotion attached to it, and it makes it more meaningful and a chance to connect. My little one is at home with a tummy ache today, and she wants cuddled and cared for in this tender type of I don't know, mama, you know, their voices get quieter and everything gets so tender, and I can see that even like an extra long bedtime, a hot tea, a scratch on the back, uh, you know, anything that shows that mommy's here and wants to be here and wants to take care of you, that helps her heal. And I can see how in the middle of a really busy day, a teacher or an admin, you know, a principal doesn't necessarily have the time to do that. But sharing a bandage with an affirmation can really take it, take it an extra step where there's more connection and the child feels seen and maybe even a little bit understood. Andrea, you talked a little bit about the murals that you do in schools, and I know you as an outright creative. I think I see you as a creative person, and then you just kind of branch out like rays of the sun. You even did a, I don't know if you remember, but you did a t-shirt design for me.

Speaker 1 34:34

Oh, yes.

Speaker 34:36

And it says find your magic, and I still have those t-shirts. I love them so much. So you do graphic design, but it's really graphic design with the value of worth and enoughness. That's the foundation of your work. So tell us a little bit about your school murals.

Speaker 1 34:58

Yeah, so I work with school principals and we create hallways that have intentions. So whether that's a mindful hallway or we've created a COM Cove where Calm Cove has all these different breathing techniques and illustrations to show how a child can go into this section and actually follow the breathing patterns with either just the images or the words. Um, there's conflict resolution murals, so kids that are struggling with getting along with another friend. There's illustrations and wording to help them navigate difficult moments in the in the daytime. Um we've created affirmation stations where there's just all different colorful affirmations plastered all over the wall, and then mirrors in the middle kind of centering the you are all these things. Um and then I also bring in curriculum. There are other murals where it's all, you know, we're bringing in the elements of drama and maths and all the different pieces, and sometimes I'll create like a collage mural that almost looks like graffiti, but it's an inclusivity and curriculum mural that sort of encompasses everything about that school. So I work with the principals on their vision. Mental health is a huge focus from and actually my passion is to bring something really meaningful around, you know, emotional regulation and emotional intelligence. Um, so I get really excited when I meet a principal that's looking for that. And the other reason we do these murals is to allow help kids move about and get some of that energy out if they're heading to the washroom, you know, just going down the hallway. So sometimes there's activities to do on the wall where they need to jump up and tap something or things like that just to get their wiggles out before they go back to their class.

Speaker 37:08

What a gift you are. That sounds like a dream. I have never been in a school that has anything like that. When did you start doing this? How long have you been doing these murals?

Speaker 1 37:21

Oh, so I started my business in 2004 when I was pregnant with my third son, very part-time at the beginning. And it's just evolved into it, wasn't always school boards. At first, I was doing, you know, nurseries and things like that. The going into schools has been probably the last 10 years.

unknown 37:51

Wow.

Speaker 37:52

So you do murals, books, bandages.

Speaker 1 37:58

Yeah.

Speaker 37:59

What else do you do? Is there anything I'm missing?

Speaker 1 38:04

Um, sometimes I cook dinner.

Speaker 38:08

That is a creative act. That is for sure. Sometimes creative and nourishing.

Speaker 1 38:15

Yeah. But that's another thing. Like this was uh talking about enoughness. This was something I always felt was I needed to define my career. Like, am I this or am I this? And as this book, I don't know, something has just evolved in me that it's like I'm just gonna let things flower. And it's so organic and it's so just following different paths. So bandages, walls, they all have a similar theme, right? Yes, yeah. But the expression of them are just I'm open to however the expression comes. I've recently made t-shirts that say being enough is my superpower. And you know, it's just like I'm just creating.

Speaker 39:05

I love that. While you've been in schools, I'm wondering, have children have you learned anything about self-worth from children? I know often they are excellent teachers.

Speaker 1 39:21

Yes, and honestly, every time I read this book, I embody the Ivy the Snail, find she's enough, a little bit more. Like every time I'm reading it, it's like an integration for myself. And I'll even say sometimes, like, how many of you feel really shy in class or you think about putting up your hand and then your heart beats fast, and I see someone just like poke their hand up a tiny bit, and there's times when I actually look at a child and I'm like, oh my gosh, you look like me, you know, it looks like my little self. So they share, they just share all kinds of things, and I I there you're right, like it's just it's very I get I think I get more by doing this for them than what they receive. Like it's such a generous gift to me to heal my own worthiness in all of this.

A Simple Enoughness Journal Prompt

Speaker 40:23

So it's I have no doubt you are giving them this beautiful opportunity to not only discover about themselves, but discover about their peers in real time. Often, you know, you and I have had very deep conversations and albeit a long time ago, but I still feel very connected to you because you and I went there. You know, you and I dove together into the emotion pool. And once you do that with somebody, you are connected. And there's a relief that comes from that. I guess not everybody, but for a lot of people, once you go there emotionally with somebody, you can stay really connected, and there's a there's just this cool um sense of relief and compassion, and I don't like I don't feel like I have to perform for you. I hope you don't feel like you have to perform for me, but I think it's because we have shown each other what's behind the curtain.

Speaker 1 41:37

Yeah.

Speaker 41:38

And so if children are doing that at a really young age and they can grow up with people or even have a school year with somebody who they don't have to have a facade in front of because they have both gone there emotionally, that is a huge gift for an eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve-year-old.

Speaker 1 42:01

Yes. And actually when I do these, when I do the talks in schools, when they come, like I'll sometimes bump into someone in the afternoon that I did I did a talk in their class in the morning, and I can feel the connection. It's like, hi, you know, there she is. And and the older kids, I would say like grade sixes, the things they share about jealousy or feeling like their sibling is loved more than they are, and or their sibling is better at a sport than they are, so their their parents are more proud of them than they are. Like it's it's such a sacred time with them that I think they get a min a moment of feeling seen, and it's can be quite therapeutic too. So you're right. I I think they are receiving something in return, absolutely.

Speaker 42:58

I'm glad you gave yourself credit for that. That's good. Good job. Or accepted it, accepted the yeah, accepted the compliment. Listener, I want to give you a little tool to try. So during these shows, I often give you a little moment of reflection or a little journal prompt. So here's something. Tonight or sometime this week, take a few minutes and write down three things about yourself that are already enough. So maybe it's your humor, or maybe it's your compassion, or maybe you have great hair, or maybe you are um, you know, I was thinking about this today. I don't I'm in a season where I'm not working out as much as I used to. I'm not training right now. And I thought, that's enough. That's okay. I'm I'm pretty average these days, and that's okay. I'm moving my body, I'm healthy, I'm not. Not winning any awards, but that's enough. I'm gonna like that's it, it's okay. I'm doing enough. And so, listener, maybe you have something like that. Maybe you used to really hit it out of the park with something, and now the bar is a little bit lower. And that can feel hard to embrace sometimes, especially for people who are used to striving and achieving because there's always this shadow of when are you gonna do the next big thing. And you know, maybe walking a few miles and doing a little Pilates a few times a week is enough. What are some points of enoughness, Andrea, that you think maybe some some listeners can tap into that they're not giving themselves credit for?

Speaker 1 44:51

So a couple of areas for me that may be relatable are um aging. I haven't had any treatment on my face. I'm seeing naturally, you know, the aging process. And sometimes that can be kind of uh startling. And so, and I'm enough, you know. I'm probably more secure now in this time in life than I was when I was 20 without wrinkles, and so just loving myself just as I am is is really really important. And another way as a mother is like the way I keep my house, the way the way I take care of people or take care of the the area, and like always feeling a bit of a pressure to get it to a place, especially if the doorbell rings or anything like that. I think who's this? Yes, I've been there, and just being easy on ourselves. There's so much pressure and paying attention, paying attention to ourselves. Am I tired? If I'm tired, it's important I honor that instead of going have a coffee and plow on, right?

Where To Find Support And Closing

Speaker 46:06

Why are you talking about me? And me. Yes, yes. So resting in what we've already done. Andrea, thank you so much for being here. If listeners want to reach out to you or contact you, where can they find you? So my website is the enoughcompany.ca and on Instagram, it's the enough company. Beautiful. Thank you so much for being here. And listener, I will put her contact info in the show notes. So, school principals, if you're out there, you want to contact Andrea. Just know you're gonna have to fly her down from Canada, but she is well worth it. Thank you for spending this time with me. If something from today's conversation resonated, or if you're in a season where support would help, visit me at catiaholm.com. That's C-A-T-I-A-H-O-L-M.com. You can also leave an anonymous question for the show by calling or texting. 956-249-7930. I'd love to hear what's on your heart. If Couch Time with Cat has been meaningful to you, it would mean so much if you'd subscribe, rate, and leave a review. It helps others find us and it grows this community of care. And if you know someone who needs a little light right now, send them this episode. Remind them they're not alone. Until next time, be gentle with yourself. Keep showing up and know I'm right here with you.