Knowing Your Worth

Knowing our worth can be very challenging, especially so if we come from a culture that values humility and warns about the dangers of being prideful. It is important we keep in mind that being prideful is about comparison and having pride is about humbly acknowledging our individual strength. Healthy pride requires humility because it is humility that keeps us grounded and motivates us to grow. We need humility to understand that we are not perfect and have our limitations. Everyone has limitations, and a large part of knowing our self-worth is understanding how to navigate shortcomings and maximize our areas of talent and expertise. By doing an honest self-inventory of what you excel at and what areas need more development, you can choose your priorities with clarity. Thinking you are not good enough does not create the motivation to grow but rather causes stagnation. Knowing where you thrive allows you to divide your time between enjoying your talents and personal development. You are worthy of time spent in ease. Not every minute should be spent in struggle. When we know our self-worth we know that we are worthy of balance.

Having a clear understanding of what we are good at allows us to spend time enjoying the knowledge and talent we have earned through education, practice, and life. We all have areas of expertise, and further development of what we are good at is a valid path. We are deserving of time spent building on our strengths. Gain or improvement does not need to be painful or solely focused on areas of shortcoming. When we know our worth, we can clearly see that we have achievements and understand the importance of enjoying the fruits of our labor. If we spend the majority of our time berating ourselves and focusing on what we don’t have, we create a miserable existence. No one deserves to feel miserable and less than all of the time. When we focus on what we don’t have, we foster a competitive mindset and miss out on collaborative opportunities. We also become very reactive when faced with constructive feedback. The less we value ourselves, the more closed minded we become. The more time we spend criticizing rather than celebrating ourselves, the more we fearful we become.

When we create an internal culture of hyper criticism, we reduce our resiliency and ability to grow because life becomes a zero-sum game. In hyper critical dynamics, comparison and scarcity of resources takes center stage, leading to hyper competition. In reality, there are enough resources to go around, and when we know our worth we are comfortable with accepting what we have earned. We understand the value of our work in professional and personal arenas. Knowing our worth protects us from accepting less than we’ve earned and protects us from exploitation. Knowing our values allows us to set standards that allow us to thrive. When we are in a hyper critical state, we feel like we are less than and therefore accept situations that keep us stagnant and cause us harm. Accepting less over time wears us down and makes it hard for us to have any positivity because we are consumed by the effort it takes to survive. Shifting from a survival mindset to one that is focused on thriving begins with owning what we have already achieved and understanding how to set realistic goals and expectations for the future. Building towards our goals allows us to feel revitalized and protect our mental health. Knowing your worth is the foundation that allows you to build a life with more good days than bad.