What's your self-worth?

Self-worth is not hard to determine. All others need to see is how we treat ourselves. Respect yourself, even for the little accomplishments. This increases feelings of self-worth. If you survived anything at all--being born into this world, bullying in elementary or middle school, emotional trauma, workplace harassment, or any kind of overwhelming stress, you are a hero. Be your own champion whether anyone is listening or not. You are a child of the universe, and you have a right to be here, maybe even a purpose for being here.

Just being here, you are a hero, whether you believe it right now or not. The challenge is to make yourself believe. Someone said (and you've heard this before), "As a wo/man thinketh..., so is s/he." Change your thoughts and change your reality. But this is easier said than done. When people claim, life is a journey, just the sound of the word, "journey" depresses me. It sounds long, tedious, and uneventful. I might not finish a journey, but I might finish something else. Life is an "adventure" sounds much better--but who am I fooling? I'm afraid of alligators, frogs, kangaroos, and many adventurous things, so life as an "adventure" won't do. Clearly, I'm not as adventurous as I used to think.

So I like to say life is a "process," complete with rules we may not understand or may not want to follow. But follow, we must, if we want to get somewhere fast or even not so fast. Like any process, when it comes to living there are steps to follow unless we're content to bang our heads against walls or go around in circles, becoming exhausted and finally giving up. Success rarely happens overnight. It take practice and persistence, but it begins with stamina followed by a step-by-step process for accomplishing our goals, whatever we say they are.

Reaching goals begins with building stamina and self-esteem, whether life is a journey, and adventure or a process. Building emotional stamina and self-esteem is a type of strength training for the body as well as the soul. As with any process, you'll need to pay attention to the details, the little twists and turns along the way, and you'll need to anticipate the best as well as the worst of times. Most important, you'll need to value your accomplishments no matter how petty they might seem, and congratulate yourself for surviving a day. This will strengthen your sense of self-worth.

If you feel like writing, here's a challenge. Try to complete the following emotional strength-building tasks:

• List five things you like about yourself, your strengths, your accomplishments, your assets, or your attributes.
• List five things you are grateful for.
• List five goals that you want to accomplish before you leave this blessed earth.
• List five reasons to smile.
• Face the mirror five days in a row and offer a smile.

If you are unable to complete these tasks, don't worry. Take things more slowly. If you can only list one attribute, one asset, one accomplishment or one strength, congratulations! If you can list one goal, kudos! If you can manage to smile only once in a week, cheers! You are a hero!
Emme