It is difficult to make a man miserable while he feels worthy of himself
Abraham Lincoln
Starting with this brilliant quote from Abraham Lincoln, we can define self-worth as the way we feel and think about ourselves, it means that the only opinion that truly matters is our own, and even that judgment should be wisely observed because we tend sometimes to be very harsh and too self-critical.
Feeling unworthy can inhibit you from shining and achieving your goals. When you don’t perceive yourself as worthy, you tend to self-sabotage and avoid asking for what you deserve.
Reversely, having a sense of self-worth means that you value yourself and that you are ready to get what you desire and to fight for your ambitions. You feel deserving of happiness, love, wealth, and success; despite the difficulties you face, the mistakes you made, and other’s opinions. It means never allowing outside forces to define you or shake your self-confidence.
The question is how I can build my self-worth, and empower my self.
I would like to share with you these three steps that you can take to increase your self-worth
1. Forgive yourself, and others
Forgiveness connects us with our loving nature and promotes openness and acceptance despite flaws and failings.
We are all humans, we made a mistake, and we can learn from them and fix it. This is our natural way to learn from life and to make our experiences valuable life lessons. Learning to forgive yourself and others for mistakes of the past, is a healthy exercise that can help you to let go and move on; holding onto the baggage of past failures is weighing you and your self-worth as well.
If there is a person (it can be yourself) that you haven’t forgiven yet, make an effort to forgive him, and liberate yourself from this weight.
Trust me, your shoulders will feel better, and your self-worth as well.
2. Stop Comparing Yourself to Others
Seeking self-worth by continually comparing ourselves to others is a losing battle; you will always find someone more attractive, successful, or richer than you are. You can’t hold on to these criteria to build your value; your sense of self-worth needs to be steady and founded on internal factors.
Comparing yourself to others is one of the easiest recipes to misery and unhappiness, it makes you focused on what you don’t have, or what you don’t like about your life instead of putting your attention on you your goals and aspirations.
If you are used to looking at what other people have, remind yourself of things that you’re grateful for, it can be your family, your friends, your health…
Practicing gratitude is not just being satisfied with what you have, but also acknowledging your successes and your accomplishments.
3. Enhance your self-love
After having fully forgiven and accepted yourself, it’s time to practice self-love by treating yourself with kindness, generosity, and compassion.
Self-compassion starts by acknowledging that a part of being human is to have many weaknesses, and limitations; So, you can accept your flaws, and be more considerate of yourself.
The first step to practicing self-love is to master your internal dialogue; this voice combines conscious judgments with unconscious thoughts. Overly harsh negative self-talk can not only increase your anxiety, but it can limit your ability to make positive changes in your life and reach your potential.
Being aware of the way you speak to yourself, and talking to yourself in a positive way that brings your attention to the beauty hidden within you will empower you; you will no longer seek approval from others or look at outside factors to define you. You will instead feel valuable and worthy of all good things in life.
