“You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection” – Buddha
Self-worthiness… the greatest of all emotions, consciously or subconsciously, holds our hand and leads us to the path of all our actions and reactions. We might credit this to our mind, but the mind, although very developed, is way too external and is not aware of its own deeper character.
Living in a physical world, most of us fail to understand or feel the forces of life hidden somewhere within us and continuously guide our behaviour or actions.
Very often, we seek approval or applause from the world around us for whatever we do. The biggest example is the over-flooded social media. With each like on a post of ours – we feel worthy.
The more we lean outwards to feel worthy, the more we become empty – as we have not yet understood our worth. So, we take different paths to prove our worth to the world and, more importantly, to ourselves.
We relate our worth to our success, flattery or adoration, and the occasional charity. But, do these really matter for a person to feel worthy? If not, then what?
To feel the worth of self-one must start looking within to understand, love and accept oneself. Your opinion about yourself and the value you put on yourself is what matters for self-worth and not what others think or say. Someone well aware of own worth does not become dependent on external factors. They do not take pride in achievements but show grace and humility too. To check the struggle between our inner and outer self, we need to act consciously.
- Are we doing things to get love, or we are doing something for the love of them?
- Are we making our success or failure a barometer for worthiness?
- Do we attach our identity to external things instead of enjoying them?
- Are we capable of creating a space for our emotions without feeling guilty about them?
- Do our feelings affect our sense of self-worth?
There is a long list to which we all attach our worth. But a slight change in the way we think can do wonders.
Never think- the world revolves around you. Believe in something greater than yourself- some ‘higher power’.
Having a high sense of self-worth does not mean an easier life. Just remember- you are responsible for your feelings, thoughts and actions. Feeling sorry for yourself is the worst way of treating yourself.
Make gratitude a daily practice. Appreciate everything, even the challenges. Tough people and challenges make you strong.
You might not be an ocean, but you can be a wave in it for sure. Everyone is capable of playing a small role in the grand event of things. Lastly, whatever we think certainly influences our lives. Practice the art of letting go and find the worth of ‘I’…
Sandy Hale says, “Self-worth is so vital to your happiness, if you don’t feel good about yourself, its hard to feel good about anything else.”