Have you been curious about how to build self worth? Self worth has become a buzz word in pop culture media lately. You see it alongside words like “self-care” and “self-esteem”. While all of these terms play an important role in mental health, none of them hold a candle to learning how to build self-worth.
Elizabeth Gilbert put it perfectly when she said: “Never forget that once upon a time, in an unguarded moment, you recognized yourself as a friend.”
So often, we go through life looking for the next validation. Whether it’s the ebb and flow of your follower count or the number on the scale, everyone is looking for something (or someone) to give them a boost.
If you’ve been curious about the self worth trend, you aren’t alone. Everyone wants to feel good about themselves, including me! But have you considered the fact that you can make the choice to feel worthy?
What is Self Worth?
Unlike self esteem, self worth is the sense of one’s own value or worth as a person. Millions of people go through life with amazing self-esteem, but no self-worth. I was one of them.
Self-esteem comes from external validations. If you give an amazing presentation at work, hit the gym really hard, or even change your hair-style, it may boost your self-esteem. Self-esteem comes and goes depending on what is happening around you.
Self-worth is an internal state of being. It doesn’t waver in the face of changing circumstances. Your self-worth comes from understanding, accepting, and loving yourself for who you are.
What I said above makes it sound simple, but it isn’t. Building your self-worth could be one of the hardest things you ever encounter. I promise it will be one of the most rewarding. Unfortunately, you won’t wake up one morning with amazing self-worth, but you can work towards it every day, step by step.
How to Build Self Worth
The first step to building self worth is knowing where to start. You need to take a good look at yourself and assess what you see. Be mindful of how you speak to yourself. Everyone has that little voice in their head that tells them they aren’t good enough.
That negative little voice comes from social conditioning and comparison. The only thing that matters is how you respond to it. If your little voice is constantly putting you down, you may find yourself overthinking your life. You do this because that little voice has caused you to distrust your own perception.
It’s time to rethink that. Keep track of what you say to yourself for a few days. Write it down in your notes and reflect on it. You may find a habitual thought loop that’s bringing you down. Once you have an idea of what your internal voice actually sounds like, you can build off of that.
Next, measure your strengths and weaknesses. We all know what we’re good at, and I would bet most of us know where we’re lacking. Take a good long look at your pros and cons and choose to love both.
Yep, I said choose to love them both!
Learning how to build self worth is all about understanding who you are and accepting the good with the bad. This doesn’t mean that you should stop working to improve yourself. It means that you should fall in love with the highs and lows along the way.
Remember that little voice we were talking about? Feed it love too. The next time you start to speak to yourself negatively, reframe the thought. You can’t control what you initially think, but you can control the thought that comes next. Choose to make it positive. You deserve it.
Taking control of your life trajectory will become second nature while learning how to build self worth. Once you choose to mindfully look at your life, accept the good with the bad, and decide to love yourself fully, everything will fall into place.
People with high self-worth subsequently have high self-esteem. Take the time to learn how to love yourself for who you are right now, and most importantly, don’t get discouraged.
Learning how to build self worth is a lengthy process, and we all have bad days. Just remember to find your center and know that it is your human right to love every part of yourself with your whole heart.
What do you think?