Everyone Has The Capacity to Feel Good!

By Noah Rubinstein, LMHC (he/him)

Updated March 1, 2026 We are all born fully equipped with everything we need inside ourselves to grow up and become healthy and happy adults who feel good about ourselves, care about the world around us, and look forward to the future. Each of us possesses the capacity to experience calm, tranquility, peace, patience, acceptance, forgiveness, clarity, kindness, compassion, self-compassion, love, joy, playfulness, excitement for life, creativity, confidence, trust, connection, hope, optimism, purpose, gratitude, and an uninhibited freedom to be one’s authentic self. And this capacity is present, even under difficult circumstances.

As newborns, we have an inherent ability to connect emotionally with our caregivers, to be soothed, comforted, and to feel loved. Under the right conditions, with 'good enough parenting' and a safe enough environment, children generally grow up to feel excited about the adventure ahead, to look forward to their future, and ready for meaningful, caring relationships. They also learn how to soothe themselves in the face of stress, process their grief, and care for themselves emotionally.

But if this is true, why don’t so many of us feel this way?

Yes, let's explore that on the next page. For now, please know that no matter your childhood, and no matter what you’ve been through, it is possible, with enough time and effort, to change and to feel better.

Continue on to the next page, Why So Many of Us Don’t Feel Good, to learn more.