Q
Do you know the value of your self-worth?
Probably not, which is why so many people are so unhappy with themselves. Self-worth is key to true happiness because when you respect yourself and know yourself inside out, then you are less likely to fall victim to expectations the world and others around you want to place on you. In order to truly be happy with yourself and your life, you need self-respect. You need to appreciate yourself and your worth so that others can follow suit and do the same.
If you don’t see yourself in a positive light and aren’t happy with yourself, how do you expect the world to see you in that way? No one will love or respect you if you don’t do the same for yourself. Self-worth starts with you and should be about how you are as a person, not about what you do. Basing your self-worth on external factors will only do more harm than good, which is why it should be rooted in who are as a person and the unique qualities that make you who you are.
But self-worth isn’t always easy to have. The world around us can be very cruel and our past can shape our self-worth and the value we place on ourselves. If you grow up with negative parents who make you feel as if you’re not good enough, chances are, you’ll go through life thinking this because they’ve trained you to think badly about your self-worth. Or maybe you have bullies that tell you that you’re fat, allowing you to internalize it and believe that you don’t deserve to be thin. Self-disgust is placed upon us by the influence of others, which is why having a strong self-worth is important to block these sort of negative influences and stand strong despite what the world tells you. Our early experiences create the concept of ourselves and shape how we see ourselves later in life. Let me tell you this, you ARE good enough.
So how does one build self-worth?
First, you’ll need to stop comparing yourself to others and focus solely on you. You’ll need to silence your inner critic that can often be just as nasty as outside factors. These inner voices can seriously undermine your self-worth and lead to self-destructive behaviors that only make us feel worse about ourselves. Once you’ve hushed that inner critic, it’s time to practice self-compassion and treat yourself with kindness. Accept your faults and love yourself no matter what. Remember that you are imperfect, but so is everyone else and that it is part of being human. To help you feel better yourself, partake in activities that make you feel important to boost your inner ego. Find activities that are in line with your own beliefs so that you can develop who are as a person.
Know that you are responsible for your self-worth and that others will try to influence it, but at the end of the day, it’s all about you. You have to live with you so why not crush any negative forces and influences and focus on building yourself up. Being happy and comfortable with who you are is far more important than pleasing everyone. And if you have any past influences that have shaped your self-worth, work through them so that you can finally be happy with yourself!
Remember, you are not your problems, your stories, or any other thing you’ve taken on to identify yourself with. You are not broken. You are the person that is there underneath all of this. You are a beautiful, divine, and worthy being entirely deserving of everything this life has to offer.
“One’s dignity may be assaulted, vandalized and cruelly mocked, but it can never be taken away unless it is surrendered.”
