Often self-worth is confused with self-esteem. They are not the same. There are inherent differences. Self-esteem, good or bad, is learned. It is an outer expression. It is shaped by many things such as our experiences, our abilities (or lack there of), our upbringing, and so on. It often waxes and wanes depending on what we are dealing with at any given time. That's not to say that we can't learn to have a healthy, positive self-esteem if we currently do not. We can.
Self-worth, on the other hand, is an inner expression. It is self-love. It is something you enter this world already possessing. It is yours without question, an integral part of your being. It can be nurtured and appreciated, or ignored and forgotten. No matter how you choose to treat your self-worth it never fails to retain it's innate value because self worth has nothing to do with what type of car you drive, your occupation, how much you weigh, your age, your finances, how others view you, or even your opinion of it. That doesn't mean that how you view your self-worth isn't important and doesn't affect how you feel it's just that, do to it what you will, it is still what it is ... invaluable.
Let us pretend that self-worth is a tangible object. Hold it in your hand. Turn it over, and over, and study it. You will find that it's comprised of unconditional self-love, acceptance, and joy. You may see faded remnants of your past mistakes in there, or your own dysfunctional opinion of yourself but look closely and you will see they are embraced by understanding and the acceptance that life consists of making mistakes and the lessons learned from them. It's this acceptance of yourself, and your right to love yourself despite anything that happens, that makes self-worth so valuable.
Losing sight of one's own self-worth is more common than many may realize. When we do not take the time to acknowledge our worth, appreciate it, and nurture it, the result is often a loss of self-confidence, a lack of joy, and a host of other negative emotions. Recognizing your self worth is extremely important. When you do this you reap the benefits of self-acceptance, self-confidence, motivation, and happiness.
Though self-worth is a permanent part of your being, the condition it is in is entirely up to you. When you have sole control over something it is your responsibility for it's outcome and your sense of worth falls into this category. You get to decide how healthy it is, how well it is recognized and expressed. Nurturing the concept that you are worthy is empowering. Loving yourself is not selfish or narcissistic. Loving yourself enables you to love others more effectively.
Accepting that you are worthy leads to a more fulfilling and happy life. So...
*Love yourself.
*Accept yourself.
*Forgive yourself.
*Be kind to yourself.
*Believe in yourself.
*Take care of yourself.
*Accept that you will make mistakes. Learn from those mistakes. Accept that this is an inevitable part of this wonderful experience called life and has no bearing on your self-worth.
*Do not define your worth by your role in life (parent, child, mother, father, spouse), your career/job, or position. Self-worth has nothing to do with these roles.
*Realize that you are unique.
*Recognize and celebrate the many aspects of who you are.
"As long as we look outside of Self - with a capital S - to find out who we are, to define ourselves and give us self-worth, we are setting ourselves up to be victims."
Robert Burney
"Through self-doubt, we lose our sense of self-worth."
Unknown
"Envy is a symptom of lack of appreciation of our own uniqueness and self-worth. Each of us has something to give that no one else has."
Unknown
"If you can't accept yourself, then certainly no one else will."
Sasha Azevedo
"A conviction of self-worth and passion for ideals fuse in a life attitude that is positive, free, noble and spiritually enhancing."
Bill Jay
"Our sense of self-worth is also key to being able to appreciate the other factors of fulfillment. Interestingly, feeling compassion for others is the most reliable way to increase our own self-worth."
Dalai Lama
see also:
- Using Affirmations: Eating Disorder Recovery
- Body Image and Self-Esteem
- Building Self-Esteem
- Beauty: The Digitally Altered Ideal
quote sources:
http://en.thinkexist.com/reference/self_worth_quotes/
http://www.selfesteemawareness.com/self-esteem-self-worth-quotes.htm
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