Dignity is a measure of what you are willing to receive. At the deepest level, self-esteem is related to our sense of entitlement.
Self-esteem implies embracing our true self, whose essence is pure love.
You are already worthy since your thoughts related to your self-esteem do not constitute your true self. These are made up stories that don’t show who you are below the surface. They are made-up narratives, sourced from well-meaning people, and were never theirs to begin with.
I appreciate that it can be difficult to understand, but with enough attention you will realize that your unworthiness is a made-up script not worth considering.
“The most dangerous stories we make up are the narratives that diminish our inherent worth. We must reclaim the truth about our kindness, divinity, and creativity,” says author Brené Brown in Rising Strong.
To reclaim our value, we must acknowledge our faults and insecurities, knowing that they are a facet of who we are.
Your dignity is a call to honor yourself completely and not focus on the aspects that take away your power.
I remember working in a men’s luxury shoe store as a young adult and discovering the imperfections in leather shoes. Customers flocked to buy shoes with minor flaws, blamed on animals grazing against barbed-wire fences or trees. This exhibited the true character of the skin replete with natural flaws.
Similarly, her scars and blemishes are not something to cower from, but to embrace as the totality of her being. Brazilian author Paulo Coelho states: “Be proud of your scars, they speak louder than the sword that caused them.”
Nobody is perfect, not even the most enlightened being. Our earthly way of life gives rise to the evolution into the person we wish to become. This means that our insecurities and negative attributes have the potential to transform into gifted characteristics.
Low self-esteem is evident in others when a compliment is paid to them. Some will give thanks, while others will reject it because they can’t take praise. This small gesture alone communicates the individual’s ability to receive.
Furthermore, our ability to receive and give love determines our self-esteem. If we are not used to receiving abundance, whether in the form of compliments, love, compassion, kindness, or otherwise, we limit our ability to improve our self-esteem.
“We increase our value when we adopt the conditions that improve self-esteem,” says Dr. Mario E. Martínez in The MindBody Code: How to Change the Beliefs That Limit Your Health, Longevity, and Success.
Beyond achieving our dreams or achieving success, our greatest triumph results from accepting our worth.
You are worthy because you are the representation of abundance. Your genetic expression, talents and gifts are the highest form of abundance. It is up to you whether you accept these gifts and use them correctly.
In the same way, you enrich your self-esteem by recognizing your worth to receive. I invite you to let go of the limiting beliefs that claim you are worthless.
Such thoughts are not conducive and harm your personal growth. Instead, we replace them with empowering thoughts.
We must update our thoughts, similar to updating computer software so that it works efficiently without a virus affecting its performance.
While I appreciate that the computer analogy is a simple metaphor, it highlights that when we let go of undesirable beliefs, we create a fulfilling life without stories that no longer serve us.
Author Brené Brown states once again: “One of the obvious things about living wholeheartedly is that you either go into your story and own your truth, or you live outside your story, fighting for your worth.”
To accept your worth, stop playing the victim and forgive yourself and others.
Every experience, good or bad, has brought you to this point in time, so even the words on this screen are orchestrated to guide your personal transformation.
Rest assured, you don’t need to accumulate more thoughts to validate your self-worth. Instead, let go of who you think you are to allow your authentic self to come out.
For change to occur, we must accept our current circumstances unconditionally.
Think of an auto restorer who buys a dilapidated vehicle to refinish it. His thoughts are fixed on the final transformation of the car, rather than its current state.
I invite you to take the same consideration and accept every facet of your life with conviction. I am not asking you to enjoy your current circumstances, but rather to accept reality in order to create the life you deserve.
You are worthy of love because the conditions that contributed to your conception were conceived out of love.
Up to a certain age, you rarely questioned your self-esteem. Although, with the passage of time you assumed the opinions of other people and understood them as your own.
To own your worth, make it a priority to embrace every facet of who you are. Avoid focusing on your negative qualities, but appreciate that they are an evolving facet of who you are. There will come a time when you will look back and see how useless it was to focus on your negative characteristics.
I often hear people declare how worthy they will feel once they have, “Insert thing, person, or life form here.” You will never be worthy even with an excess of money or love, if you carry your unworthiness like a bag.
Unworthiness is a virus that infects our spirit and suffocates our potential.
We must eliminate the virus by viewing it as a obscuring veil of deception that robs us of our authenticity.
I want to leave you with a passage from the book by Brené Brown strong increase that captures the spirit of embracing our dignity.
“I define living wholeheartedly as engaging in our lives from a place of dignity. It means cultivating the courage, compassion, and connection to wake up in the morning and think: No matter what’s done and what’s left to do, I’m enough.”
After all, under suffering you are worthy because you are enough just with your presence.