20 Jan 2018

A common scenario I come across in practice is clients underestimating their true worth. I am not talking about financial worth. I’m talking about the value of their life and experiences. Often we get caught up in societal beliefs that if we don’t hold a “good” job or relationship, have the right education, own our own home or drive the latest car that we are not worth much. We believe we have little or nothing of value. Why is it that our worth is judged by our material possessions, relationships, level of education, fame or what we offer to society? Why is our worth not assessed by who we are or what we do as a person? Why is our worth even judged at all?

The more I learn through life experience, the more I am coming to the realisation that there is nothing we need to prove to anyone to show how worthy we are of our existence. The fact that you are here today shows that you are worthy of existence, regardless of whether you believe it or not. If you were not worthy of life, would you even be here in the first place? You ticked off those “I am worthy” boxes a long, long, long time ago (not that they even existed anyway). You deserve to be here my friend, just like everyone else in this world. You have a right to want and not want certain things, to experience the highs and the lows, to give or not give, to say yes or to say no. You deserve to have and partake in all the contrasting experiences that life has to offer. And you deserve to do this without having to justify anything to anyone.

You don’t have to explain your reasons or give excuses for doing things the way you do to either your family, your friends, yourself or to any higher authority. You are the creator of your own experiences and you have a right to decide what it is you would like to create. What you do not have the right to do however is to manipulate or force something upon another against their will. That’s not part of the deal of being here and at the end of the day this is one of the main reasons we have so much upheaval in the world – but I digress.

I guess what I am getting at is that it’s not up to anyone else to tell you how much you are worth and nor would it be wise to give anyone else that much authority over your life. How you see yourself and judge your worth is entirely up to you. Just be sure to recognise that it is your belief and not what you have been conditioned to believe about yourself by society, the media, well meaning parents or teachers. Think about it. I mean really think about it. If we truly value ourselves for who we are and the life we have, there is no need to seek acceptance externally from others. There is no need to constantly give proof to get that validation from others. We are comfortable with who we are, where we are at and why we do the things we do. If you are not, then take action and makes changes until you are.

People can and will think whatever they like about you regardless of what you do and quite frankly it really isn’t any of your business what they think. They are entitled to their own opinion, their own beliefs and perceptions. Let them have it but don’t draw your own conclusions of your worth based on the little they really know about you and your circumstances. Only you know the full story of your life. Only you know your true worth.