Insecurity monster

You’re old enough now; it’s time you should know
a truth I learned a long time ago.
I was just your age when I learned from my mother
who learned from her father who learned from another

I’ll whisper it now, ‘cause it may sound absurd -
but listen real close to the following words -
You’ll think it’s a lie but I promise it’s true -
Monsters are real, and you have one on you.

It sits on your shoulder, though you cannot feel it;
you cannot command it, repeal or conceal it.
It clings to you always, waking or sleeping;
it’s there when you’re running or twirling or leaping.

I know what you’re thinking -
perhaps I was winking,
my fingers are crossed,
or at last, I’ve been drinking.

I felt the same way, when I was first told,
of the monsters that live on the young and the old.

Oh yes, you see, I have one too -
just as all good people do.

All people have monsters, though very few know it,
And some who do know -- they assume they’ll outgrow it.
And each one is different, each one is unique,
but there is one phrase that all monsters will speak:

“you’re not good enough, and you never will be.”

You see our monsters they grow with our doubts and our fears.
They thrive on our cries and are soothed by our tears.

The bigger they get, the smaller we feel,
the louder they croak: “you are less than ideal.”

The monster it stirs when you meet someone new;
it says, “surely this person is better than you.
Surely they’re prettier, funnier, smarter;
maybe you could be too, if you tried a bit harder.”

And if public speaking
has you quite freaking,
you can be quite sure
that’s the monster’s critiquing.

Yes monsters are happiest when people are cruel,
for insults are their favorite tool:
“You’re lazy, you’re lumpy, you’re foolish, you’re slow!”
The monster repeats it wherever you go.

Feed my monster enough and you’ll surely see,
one of two things may happen to me:
I could turn really shy and reclusive;
or I could become mean and abusive.

And monsters don’t simply prey on our youth;
they thrive on adults and those long in the tooth.
They rest on the rich and perch on the poor,
on celebrities, plumbers, and families of four.

The monster it thrives when you most suffer
and believe that your worth is determined by others.

But once you realize that’s not true -
that she who sets her worth is YOU -

Instead of growing week by week,
your monster, it begins to SHRINK

The best cure for meanness is kindness, it’s true;
and same for the monster that lives upon you.
He can’t abide compliments, praise, or sincerity.
He faints at forgiveness and chastens at charity.

He shrinks in the face of acceptance and grace;
he shrinks in the arms of a kind embrace;
he shrinks when you do things just for the love of it -
when you risk looking foolish but still rise above it.

Monsters are most scared you’ll call their bluff
by knowing you’re ALREADY good enough!

So be yourself, be yourself, BE YOURSELF NOW -
a concept your monster can never allow.

And I promise you this, I promise you here:
your tiny pet monster is nothing to fear.