Self-worth! Something most of us struggle with – but what exactly is it?
Self-worth is the internal sense of being good enough and worthy of love and belonging from others. Self-worth is often confused with self-esteem, which relies on external factors such as successes and achievements to define worth and can often be inconsistent leading to someone struggling with feeling worthy.
Brene Brown says this : By cultivating our courage to be who we are uncensored, compassion to others and to ourselves, and connections with people through both good times and bad, we can begin to recognize our self-worth and live with meaning and satisfaction. We can be us, exactly as we are, and go through life with confidence and joy.
Yes, we do often confuse self-worth with self-esteem. But, they are so very much a part of each other. When we do not have the internal sense of being good enough and worthy of love and belonging, it stands to reason that our self-esteem is also very low. And I love that Brene Brown says that we are capable of cultivating our courage to be who we are uncensored. Uncensored meaning unsuppressed and unaltered. Just being purely who we are at the very core of our beauty.
Being capable of something does not necessarily mean that it’s easily obtainable. It’s really hard to be courageous. It’s really hard to show up, completely vulnerable, laying ourselves completely bare. But when we can do that, with compassion for others and more importantly, for ourselves, that’s when we are able to recognise our self-worth. And that’s when we can live our life with meaning and satisfaction.
I write a lot about giving away our power. I encourage people every day to take back their power. And it’s so much about taking back your power, because every day, you give your power away. You allow someone to form an opinion about you, to such a degree, that you believe that to be true. You allow that person to influence how you feel about yourself. And in so doing, you allow doubt to creep into your psyche. You start to question your own validity. You start to question who you are.
And when this happens, you can know without a shadow of doubt, that you have given your power away. In taking your power back, you are able to muster that courage that it takes for you to be your true authentic self. And of course, being your true authentic self requires of you that you be vulnerable – open to criticism, ridicule and judgement. However, when you can appreciate that criticism, ridicule and judgement from a distance, and not allow it to seep into your soul and affect how you feel about yourself, you solidify within yourself, your sense of self-worth. You show the world around you that it is only your opinion of yourself that matters to you (in a nice way of course – no arrogance here please). And when you determine your self-worth, other people automatically follow rather than take the lead.
Author: Spirit Connection
Spirit Connection is an online platform to facilitate connecting light workers with people seeking their help.
