All That You Deserve

A sample of All That You Deserve

All That You Deserve

Jacqueline Whitney

Thought Catalog Books — thoughtcatalog.com — New York • Los Angeles

Copyright © 2021 Jacqueline Whitney.

All rights reserved.

Published by Thought Catalog Books, an imprint of the digital magazine Thought Catalog, which is owned and operated by The Thought & Expression Company LLC, an independent media organization based in Brooklyn, New York and Los Angeles, California.

This book was produced by Chris Lavergne and Noelle Beams with art direction and design by KJ Parish. Special thanks to Bianca Sparacino for creative editorial direction and Isidoros Karamitopoulos for circulation management.

Visit us at thoughtcatalog.com and shopcatalog.com.

Made in the United States of America.

ISBN 978-1-949759-43-3

This is your reminder
that you deserve the best of everything,
simply because you exist.

I want you to know what it feels like to be in love with the life that you are living. I want you to know what it feels like to wake up in the morning and be grateful for another day, every day. I want you to have all of the energy you need to live the life you want to live. I don’t want you to be scared of the unknown—I want you to see the unknown as a beautiful puzzle that you will be able to build on your own. You are capable of building your dream life—one that you look back on in the future and are completely in awe of. I don’t want you to look back and regret not making the move you doubted you could do. You can do anything. Start by believing in what you don’t believe you are capable of. Start by letting go of the strings attached to your past. Start slowly. It won’t happen all at once but it will happen as it needs to. Please, don’t doubt yourself and remember you don’t need anyone else to believe in you for your dreams to come true. You deserve to believe in yourself and let that energy carry you through.

I hope you choose to
live and not just exist

don’t just exist

Please, if there’s one thing you do today,
let it be to hold your soul in compassion.
You have been through far too much
to be anything but kind to yourself.

Thank you for being the light that shows
others they are not alone. The world truly
would not be the same without you.

Please, don’t be discouraged.
Trust beyond what you can see.
You are growing and that is good.

You are so brave
even if progress feels slow.

I hope you choose to fight for yourself instead of against yourself. I hope you choose to not hold onto the hurt, but to instead work on the hurt so that you can live the life you dream about. I am not saying forgive and forget. Pain often leaves permanent wounds, but those wounds will never turn into scars if you never forgive, and the thing about scars is...scars don’t hurt. Too many people walk around ignoring their wounds and live a life in a constant fight with themselves. Life is not supposed to be a repetitive struggle. Life is supposed to be an enjoyable and beautiful experience that fills your soul with more sunshine than rain. You deserve to fight for yourself and you deserve people who will fight for you. You are worth someone’s complete attention and care, but this is your reminder that you are also worth your own. Give yourself all the time and attention you need to heal. You are doing better than you think you are.

You didn’t ask to go through
what you do and you are so
brave for enduring it.

You are brave for walking your body out of bed and for trying to do your best every single day. You are doing your best. Others don’t need to understand what your best is. You are brave for trying to move on. You are brave for forgiving that person that seemed impossible to forgive. You are brave for giving up on that thing that you never dreamed you would have to give up on. You are brave for loving after love broke you. You are brave for continuing to keep going. Keep going. You are brave for opening up and speaking about what felt impossible to speak about. You are brave for reaching out for help. You are brave for driving yourself to the appointments you didn’t have the energy to drive yourself to. You are brave for trying new things that terrify you and don’t make sense. You are brave for moving through the unknown. You are brave for fighting for yourself and what you believe is true. You are a brave soul that deserves to live peacefully in this world. You are brave.

You know you are going to get
through this. You always get
through what you go through.

You are so brave for loving after love hurt you.

You have it in you to become
a version of yourself that you
genuinely love. You have it in you to
become someone you’re so proud of.