I was in a Communications class once in college and we were in the middle of chapter two and talking about values and beliefs, self esteem and self worth. Most everyone knows or has heard that you're supposed to talk positively about yourself or anything else to achieve your desired results. The "what you say is what you'll get" cliché' or "garbage in garbage out" theory is most widely used. My teacher said: "Sometimes people get depressed and quiet and don't say anything to anyone or don't feel out-going and compare themselves to other people who are out-going and think; "Well, I'd be out-going too if I was rich or if I had everything going for me, or nothing ever goes wrong in so and so's life.". Well, maybe things do go wrong for people that seem happy all the time or positive all the time. Maybe they just don't show it. Maybe they have the world falling down around their feel, but they choose to stay cheerful and positive."
You've heard it and heard it time and time again, and still you come out of the class or motivational sermon with the same feelings than when you went in. This time, as I was listening to my teacher explain the concept of "self worth", she added a new perspective that enlightened me.
She asked; "If I were to go to the ATM machine and take out a five dollar bill that was brand new, crisp, with no wrinkles or tears and held it up and asked if any of you wanted it....how many of you would say yes?" The whole class raised their hands.
"Okay, now; she asked, If I were to take a five dollar bill and tear off a couple of the corners, wad it up in a ball and roll it between my hands, then take it and throw it on the floor and step on it and kick it around with my shoe until it was dirty, then wipe it off a little and hold it up and ask if anyone wanted it....how may of you would say yes now?" Again, the whole class laughed as they raised their hands.
"That's right. I don't blame you! Just because this dollar isn't perfect and has tears and wrinkles doesn't change it's value or worth."
We all knew this, but hadn't really thought about it like that.
Then she said; "What about people. Some people have been in accidents where they are disabled, have scars or are missing a limb. They may have been abused, paralyzed or had an illness that left them physically altered. Any number of things may have happened in someone's life. Just because someone has had a rough life, doesn't mean that their life is less valuable, that their worth is any less. They're the same person with the same value even though they have tears and wrinkles and scars, they're not crisp and new."
That really impressed me as I began to think about it. Everyday, there are many of us that tend to de-value ourselves based on what has happened in the past or what is happening to us right now. We lose our self esteem, feel that our self worth is rapidly declining....but it isn't so. If I could add a little of religion here, I would say that to God, we are always valuable. Our worth never depreciates no matter what we have done. We are the same as we always were. So, the next time you feel worthless, stop and think about it. No matter how we look on the outside or how we feel about ourselves, our value hasn't changed.
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