Music is rife with songs about not being good enough. They are written to remind people that they are not alone and that they should not be embarrassed of themselves or their position. Often, these songs about not being good enough can be utilized as motivation to overcome challenges in our own life. Hearing music about other people’s experiences has sometimes helped me cope with my own personal challenges and setbacks better than anything else.
Here are 30 songs about not being good enough that I put together and I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.
- Empire Cast – Good Enough
This masterpiece performed in season 1 of the Empire drama series is sung by Jussie Smollet who plays Jamal Lyon and is about the way parents look at their children as not being good enough for them.
They despise them for whom they are and abuse them, pushing them to be someone they are not.
To the children out there who have been told they are not good enough…you are and will always be! Jamal was one of the best things about Empire.
You have to admit, he is a beast on the mic!
- Little Mix – Good Enough
Practice makes perfect and yet no one is perfect!
Perfection simply doesn’t exist and is what we can equate to originality.
This is for the ones who were told they are not the perfect daughters, sons, or lovers.
I have always loved this song and the raw emotion in Jesy’s voice. This track actually hits different after watching Jesy’s documentary.
Nobody deserves to feel that kind of pain. What a brave woman! The line, “you stole the love that I save for myself and I watched you give it to somebody else” always moves me to tears!
- Snøw & Teqkoi – I’m Not Enough And I’m Sorry
When you are feeling worthless because other people treat you like you are not good enough for them, always refer to this therapeutic dose.
I’m sure this song is meant to be taken in a way where someone hurt you, but it hurts more when you feel like that person is yourself aiming every weapon at your own head.
Here this, “she is so perfect but I’m not good enough for her. I’m trying to protect her but I think I’m hurting her instead. She tells me she loves me and does everything she could to make sure I’m happy and that she doesn’t hurt me and I’m trying to do the same for her but I can’t. I’m worthless and she’s perfect!”
- Hollyn – I wasn’t enough for you
“Not wishing the best cause I was that for you” is the perfect line depicting the kind of energy you need when you finally decide to walk away from people who don’t reciprocate the kind of love you offer and make you question yourself!
Like Trent Shelton said, “The only closure you need is knowing that you deserve better.”
I’m still trying to live those words, but some days the pain overtakes me and I struggle to keep going. Love is a verb: trust actions and not words!
- Blood Orange – You’re Not Good Enough
For all the times we slept together and all the moments we shared together while deep down one of us knew the other wasn’t good enough for them!
This is for the courage to walk away from those relationships that feel forced, the ones where we are always questioning our values and worth.
Someone out there is good enough for you and the perfect match and you’re just wasting precious moments of your life being stuck in a consuming and toxic relationship- and this applies even with the other facets of life such as work and friendship!
- [FREE AUDIO] Maybe I’m not good enough
If you’re drifting away in misery, feeling useless, and like you’re not even good enough for yourself, just remember this and let those emotions fly.
This has been derived from Selena Gomez’s song “The Heart Wants What It Wants”, Anesthesia, Charlie St. Cloud, La La Land, The Vampire Diaries, and The Edge Of Seventeen.
It’s hard to love yourself when everyone’s pointing out your flaws.
This is the feeling you get when you discover you’re not even your favorite person’s favorite person, and in this world, everyone says “I’m here for you” when they really aren’t! Remember that you are enough, and no one can take that away from you!
- Sad Multi-fandom – Maybe I’m not good enough
“We accept the love we think we deserve!” – That line hits hard.
A collection of quotes from popular series that resonate with the feelings of not being good enough. They have added that emotional touch of melody to whisk you away and help you heal from your own inferiority.
I realized the reason many keep feelings to themselves is that they really can’t explain them.
And do you know that feeling when you really want to cry but you can’t? Because something inside is broken? That’s how many feel all the time.
If you don’t recognize the person you are looking at in the mirror, keep looking, eventually, they will appear!
- Evanescence – Good Enough
“Good Enough” is the type of song to dispel any doubts that you may be harboring about yourself because the truth of the matter is that in this life we all have a sparkling destiny and value that sits at our most repressed magnificence.
So no matter how you feel at this moment, always remember you are good enough for the people that matter and you possess a resident hero that rests at your most wise foundation!
- Nightcore – I’m sorry I’m a disappointment
We speak different languages, yet when our hearts are broken, we understand each other.
This is a moving piece that illustrates the feelings of someone who feels unworthy of anyone’s attention. The pain in her voice is palpable, and it’s extremely relatable. Have you ever wanted to cry and felt the tears welling up in your eyes, but they wouldn’t come out? That is the pinnacle of devastation.
Allow this piece to mend the broken pieces of your heart, and you’ll emerge feeling more alive and powerful!
- Eli – Worthless
“When will they be proud of me” hits hard and home and you can’t help but feel like a mammoth part of you deeply relates to this line.
The worst feeling in the world is feeling completely alone when you’re in a room full of friends.
What we sometimes don’t get to understand is that sleep is really not enough if it’s your soul that is tired!
It’s important to remember that we are all here for a reason, and no one is truly worthless. If anyone makes you feel that way, then maybe it’s time to get away from them and block your ears to their spiteful words.
- Olivia Rodrigo – Enough for you
You might be well advised to never hurt a singer for they will write a whole album about you!
My favorite lines from this tune include, “Don’t you think I loved too much to be used and discarded”, “I don’t want your sympathy I just want myself back” and “Someday I’ll be everything to somebody else”.
“Enough for you” details the pain of loving and being in a relationship with someone who never thought even once that you were enough for them (their loss!).
You exit the stage with your head held up high and soon enough you’ll meet someone who will appreciate you for who you are.
- Evie Clair – Will I Be Enough
“So I will give you all my love never question what could bring us, but even then, will I be enough?”-Tell you what sweetie, you will be more than enough for them and if they still don’t see it, their loss!
We sometimes try so much to be perfect for other people, forgetting that we all have flaws and that is what makes us human. So wear your imperfections with pride and if anybody doesn’t like you for who you are, they can take the next ride to hell for all you care!
- Dishwalla – Every Little Thing
We all wish we could be everything that our parents, friends, teachers, lovers, and society want us to be, but the reality is that this makes us feel not good enough for anyone and anything in life and doesn’t do well for anyone’s confidence, to be honest.
That is why we have people walking around with shattered confidence (people who were once riding high are now nothing but a shadow of themselves!).
So let’s just accept people for who they are and be there for them without necessarily crashing or altering their demeanors.
- Lifehouse – Good Enough
It’s the people who put us under so much undue and unnecessary pressure so as to conform to their insanely invented ideas of who we are, and the honest reality is that no one knows us better than ourselves.
So you really don’t have to do anything to prove your worth to anyone other than yourself. Life is not an Agatha Christie novel; it’s so much scarier!
So adding unwarranted pressure for the sake of others is not worth it.
- Beyoncé – Why Don’t You Love Me
We have all sometimes been caught up in this type of situation; wondering why the ones we love didn’t love us back with the same magnitude. We start to question our worth because we do everything for them and they don’t seem to appreciate any of it.
But soon enough we realize that it absolutely has nothing to do with us. It’s just that those people don’t deserve us and our love.
And who cares if they don’t love us back? We love ourselves and that is all that matters. Now that we are talking, I swear Beyoncé always has the perfect songs about not being good enough for any occasion!
- Kasey Chambers – Not Pretty Enough
You crave their attention, you put on the most exquisite dress, you wear shimmering make-up, you put on your most expensive cologne to smell nice for them, and on top of it all you wear the most captivating smile to make their day, but they still don’t notice you.
So you wonder if I am not good enough? What do I have to do to make them like me?
You don’t have to change, the world can change its heart. You are just good enough the way you are – never forget that and if you do, I’ll appear like a shadow at night to remind you!
- Simple Plan – Perfect
Parents would be best advised to always encourage their kids and show them that they appreciate every effort, however little.
You don’t have to demand perfection for in a way you sow seeds of disbelief in the children’s hearts and they grow with these feelings of inadequacy to adulthood and may end up inflicting the same on their children.
So today, break the cycle and love them unconditionally without relaying some needless pressure on them.
30 Sad Songs About Broken Relationships With Parents
- Jack Johnson – Sitting, Waiting, Wishing
An equivalent to running a fool’s errand, you don’t want to be put in a position by anybody where you try to look perfect and come back expecting they’ll love you now that you feel like you qualify for their love.
Life is always moving and so should you.
Never let someone yield so much power over you, no matter who they are – I mean even God lets us have free will, doesn’t he?
- P!NK – Don’t Let Me Get Me
Have you ever woken up and wished to be someone else?
Looking in the mirror and you don’t recognize the person staring back at you?
Most high school students and a good majority of adults can identify with the lyrics present in this tune.
Some people are only meant to give love, and never receive it.
Many people are actually not afraid of death, they’re afraid they’re going to die before they experience true happiness!
- Kina – I wish I was Better feat. Yaeow
You are just perfect the way you are.
Just know that the only ones you should truly love are those that never left.
The saddest part of a relationship is missing the person who hurt you and still waiting for their comfort, even though you know that you can’t be together anymore. Always remember that it’s just a bad day, not a bad life.
More Songs About Not Being Good Enough
| 21. | Adele | Chasing Pavements |
| 22. | Lauren Daigle | You Say |
| 23. | Kylie Minogue | Get Outta My Way |
| 24. | TLC | Unpretty |
| 25. | Bon Iver | I Can’t Make You Love Me |
| 26. | Beyoncé | Pretty Hurts |
| 27. | Ed Kleban | Nothing |
| 28. | Carrie Underwood | Cry Pretty |
| 29. | Radiohead | Creep |
| 30. | Linkin Park | Numb |
Although this list features a pretty broad range of artists, one thing remains constant: songwriters around the world have empathized over the concept of not being good enough for as long as music has existed.
No matter what you are going through and how you feel about yourself, always know that you didn’t come this far to only come this far; pressure makes diamonds!
