"Meghan Markle recently sat down with close friend, entrepreneur, philanthropist, keynote speaker, and founder of IT Cosmetics, Jamie Kern Lima in Markle’s first ever podcast interview. The hour-and-a-half long episode on The Jamie Kern Lima Show was full of inspiring (and tear-worthy) topics. One topic that had me wiping tears off my cheeks? When Kern Lima started a talking point by saying, “80 percent of women don’t believe they’re enough.”
This statement had me laser-focused on how the Duchess of Sussex responded to the question. If you’re ever feeling or have felt unworthy, read on for Meghan Markle’s powerful statement on self-worth. It will have you bookmarking it for future reference.
Meghan was asked if she had ever felt ‘unworthy’
Kern Lima asked the duchess if she had ever felt unworthy. Meghan Markle answered with, “Oh my gosh, of course, yes.” She then went on to share that you can stop feeling “unworthy” when you’re no longer in what she calls the ‘prove it game.’
What is the ‘prove it game’?
The duchess says that the ‘prove it game’ is “this idea that we spend so much of our lives trying to prove something. To prove that you’re enough, to prove that you’re pretty enough, [or] to prove that you’re smart enough. Prove that you’re a good wife or a good friend.” What Meghan Markle goes on to say in the podcast interview had me exhaling with a big sigh of relief. She says, “I am just so done with the ‘prove it game.’” It’s like when Meghan said it, I was saying it, too.
Why I resonated with Meghan’s take on the ‘prove it game’
As young girls, as women, and as moms, there’s this lingering shadow over our heads to feel like our worthiness is tied to some prize that is defined by someone other than ourselves. It can look like adding a title to the end of our name after a promotion, being able to conceive or having a child, or saying ‘no’ to a fun night out because we want to be perceived as the mom who pours herself into her kids (but ends up never pouring into herself).
In reality, “You’re proving nothing to anyone other than to yourself,” says the duchess. What really matters is knowing who you are as a person—not how someone defines your worth. Meghan is tired of the ‘prove it game,’ and I’m tired of it, too.
The duchess’s response in the podcast interview to the ‘prove it game’ had me snapping in solidarity. She adds, “You get to the place where you feel like ‘I’ don’t have to prove anything to ‘you’ anymore. I don’t have to prove that I’m a good person, I don’t have to prove to you that I’m a good wife or mom or friend, [and] I don’t have to prove that I work hard.” She states, “It can be really freeing when you stop playing the ‘prove it game.’”
The only person who can define your worth is you. Meghan says this by iterating, “I know that I’m a great friend, and I know I’m the kind of mom I am, and I know the kind of human being I am, and I know how I show up. And I love being able to be that person with the people that I love.” Worthiness “comes when you stop having to feel like you’re in the ‘prove it game.’” I am, you are, we are all worthy. Period.
Patty Schepel, Editorial Assistant
As the editorial assistant, Patty works with The Everymom’s team on pitches, creating original articles, updating existing content, photo sourcing, writing shopping product descriptions, inputting freelance articles, and more. When she’s not working, you can find her spending time with her family, training for half marathons—she ran one 16 weeks pregnant—traveling, cooking, reading a rom-com, and keeping her sourdough starter, Rose, alive.