Worthy

This Book Is for You If…

✔ You’re tired of chasing worth through achievements or approval

✔ You long to feel confident, loved, and enough—just as you are

✔ You want to stop letting fear or self-doubt hold you back

Reading this felt like being gently guided back home to myself.

Enough, Just As You Are

Book Review & Reflection by Lindsay Smith, LCSW

Worthy: How to Believe You Are Enough and Transform Your Life

By Jamie Kern Lima

Mood of the Book:

Real, raw, full of love, joy and inspiration

5 Gems to Fuel Growth…

You, exactly as you are, are enough and worthy of love.

The shift I needed: We get to actively choose to believe in our worth and to love ourselves every day—it’s not a one-time decision

In sixth grade, I had two best friends. One day during break, they told me they didn’t want to be friends with me anymore. I was devastated. That moment planted a belief deep within me that I wasn’t lovable or worthy. I spent decades chasing self-love, seeking and waiting to feel it, but it never came. Then, at age 36, I had a breakthrough: I realized loving myself was actually a choice. I didn’t have to wait to feel it. I could choose, in that moment, to love myself completely.

Jamie’s message reinforced this truth: there is nothing we have done, or could ever do, that can make us unworthy of love. We are already enough, just as we are. It’s about recognizing our inherent value and choosing, today—and every day, to believe it.

When we show up inauthentically, trying to please others, we are telling ourselves we are unworthy as we are.

The shift I needed: Authenticity isn’t just brave, it’s required for real love and connection.

So many of us learned from an early age to perform, to shape-shift, to be who others wanted us to be. Jamie explains that even when we succeed in gaining someone's approval this way, it often leaves us lonelier than before because they’re not loving the real us.

Authenticity is the only way to feel seen and to experience real love. The moment we show up as ourselves, fully, we unlock the door for true connection. That’s the beginning of real belonging. In my own life, the more I embrace and allow people see the real me—flaws and all—the more love and connection I feel. It's not always easy, but it is always worth it.

We can change our relationship with rejection and failure by redefining what they mean.

The shift I needed: What feels like rejection is actually protection, redirection, or preparation.

Rejection and failure only mean what we decide they mean. And for many of us, they’ve come to mean “I’m not good enough.” That belief creates fear. And fear makes us shrink, play small, and reject ourselves—before anyone else even gets the chance.

The peer rejection I experienced at a young age left a deep imprint. I began approaching relationships expecting rejection, believing that if people really got to know me, they wouldn’t want me. I thought I’d be too much, or not enough, or just...unlovable.

Jamie offers two reframes I now use regularly: “Rejection is God’s protection,” and “I haven’t been rejected. My Creator hid my value from them because they’re not assigned to my destiny.” That truth helped me see that not every no is a loss. Sometimes it’s sacred redirection. Other times, it’s grace in disguise—shielding us from what isn’t aligned so we stay open to what is.

Now, instead of letting rejection defeat me, I use it as a reminder: my worth isn’t up for negotiation. And sometimes, what feels like rejection is really divine alignment.

The people who succeed the most are the ones who are willing to fail the most.

The shift I needed: Every failure is a steppingstone to success.

Jamie reminds us that success doesn’t happen by avoiding failure. It happens by embracing it. Each misstep is either a lesson or a redirection. I believe this so deeply. It aligns with my core life motto: Life is happening for me. Always. In all ways.

I’ve had 2 successful businesses, 4 that failed, and a few still unfolding. I’ve dealt with public criticism, internal team conflict, and programs that never took off. There were times I poured everything in and still didn’t get the results I hoped for. But looking back, every single stumble built resilience, taught me something, or pointed me toward something better. What made the difference wasn’t getting it right every time—it was the decision to keep going anyway.

Trying again after failing isn’t weakness. It’s power. It’s how dreams are built.

Trust yourself. Trust your own knowing.

The shift I needed: My inner knowing is my greatest guide.

We live in a world overflowing with advice and opinions. It’s easy to doubt ourselves or believe someone else must know better. But Jamie reminds us of the wisdom within. When we pause, get quiet, and truly listen, our inner knowing will guide us.

Over the past few years, I’ve been learning to tune in—to God, to my intuition, to that still, small voice within. I ask: What do I know to be true? What feels aligned? What is in my highest and best? Trusting myself hasn’t always meant getting what I want. Sometimes I get what I want. Sometimes I don’t. But either way, I get what I need—a lesson, a redirection, or an unexpected gift. And that inner voice always leads me somewhere meaningful.

My 3 Core Ratings (1/-5)

YES!! It was so uplifting and inspiring. Jamie is an incredible storyteller and is so relatable, open, and full of heart. Reading this felt like sitting down with a trusted friend who truly knows and sees me. Her words felt like coming home to myself. I felt deeply connected, aligned, and inspired.

There were absolutely powerful shifts for me in this book. While many of the core concepts are things I’ve been integrating for years, the way Jamie presented them helped solidify, and even expand, my beliefs. Her honesty, vulnerability, stories, and reframes helped me revisit parts of my journey with fresh eyes and a renewed sense of peace.

This book is rich with actionable steps—I’m barely scratching the surface here, but I highly recommend reading the full book to access all the gems Jamie offers. Many of her tools can be applied immediately, and others require time and practice to fully integrate—I’m still working on them! One example: Jamie shares 5 shortcuts to self-worth. My favorite, which can be applied immediately, is this: Start actively looking for the good in everything around you. As this becomes your mindset, you’ll begin seeing the good in yourself, too.

Mic Drop Moment:

“Both self-doubt and self-belief take an equal amount of energy to manifest something that hasn't happened yet. We can have self-doubt, pessimism, and fear... or we can have hope, faith, and belief. They each take an equal amount of confidence in something that's unseen…We get to choose which one we put our energy into. Because neither has happened. Neither is proven.” – Jamie Kern Lima

Notes, Nudges & Nuggets:

✔ Be authentically you. Someone else’s approval is not what makes you valuable. You are valuable just as you are.

✔ Allow your whole self to shine. Don’t dim your light to try to please others.

✔ Limiting beliefs aren’t true—unless you choose to believe they are. Then they feel true, and you live as if they are. But you have the power to change those beliefs.

✔ When you show up as your full, imperfect self, you give others permission to do the same.

✔ To get what you truly desire, you must choose to believe you are worthy of it.

If you’re thinking about picking up this book – or doing any Amazon shopping – clicking through my link helps support future reviews at no extra cost to you. Thank you so much for your support!

Final Reflection:

Your worth was never up for debate. You just needed to come back to your own remembrance that you are worthy, exactly as you are. You are love, and you are loved.

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How would you show up today if you already knew, without a doubt, that you were deeply and completely worthy?

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