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Experiment 2: Strengths Finder 2.0
What You're Worth
Thursday, February 07, 2008
If someone were to ask my what my biggest struggle in life is, I’d have to say it’s the issue of self-worth.
Self-worth is so essential and yet most of us, if not all of us, seem to struggle with it on some level. Some of us struggle more than others. And sometimes it’s only about very specific things. Most of the weird negative social behaviors stem from lack of self-worth and people searching for some kind of validation.
Recently I was struggling with this issue again. It always turns up when I don’t even notice it. It sneaks into my language (ex. always apologizing for things that don’t need to be apologized for), my self-deprecating humor and even my actions (ex. not taking the “nice chair” because someone else should get the better chair). My friend Lennox, ever the observant caller-outer of such things, did just that. He called me out.
“Why do you feel like you’re not worth it?” he asked.
It’s funny--sometimes you think you have everyone fooled. That no one can see that you don’t fully like yourself. Or like yourself at all. But it comes out. People can feel it, even those who are not particularly observant. And when someone calls you out, you end up feeling a little bit like you were caught with your drawers down. But he didn’t just ask the question. He told me a story about his own epiphany about self-worth. And it’s based in real estate.
What is a house worth? If we add up the materials that it’s made of, that’s one thing. Concrete, wood, nails, wiring, piping, insulating, etc. But that’s not the *worth* of the house. A house is worth whatever anyone is willing to pay for it. For example, if I wanted to have a 2 bedroom house in Montana or Nebraska, let’s say it goes for 120K. BUT if you move that same house, made of exactly the same building materials, to Beverly Hills or Manhattan, suddenly the price skyrockets to a couple million! How does that happen? It’s because someone thinks it’s worth it to pay that much to live in Manhattan.
So what does that have to do with me? Or is the analogy way too obvious already?
Am I worth something because of what I’m made of? Or how good I am at this or that? Or is worth given by how much someone is willing to pay for me? Jesus paid his whole life for me. And if Jesus paid for me with His life, then I must be worth a LOT. I know I’ve heard that a lot before, but I don’t think it ever made it from my brain to my heart. I think I get it now. I’m worth it to Him.
So it’s time for me to *believe* that value and move on, stop trying to haggle down the price for me. It’s something I want so much to believe. So this is the beginning of new things. And hey, it’s Chinese New Year! Gong hay fat choy! And happy new beginnings!
Thanks Lennox.