Determining You Own Self Worth

By Christine Harvey

When I was in college, I had a professor of psychology named Dr. Lui. She asked us a question that changed my life. She said, “I want you all to think about this, and give me an answer. What percentage of your own self worth is based on what other people think of you? And what percentage is based on what you think of yourself?”

Then she paused to wait for answers. Of course the responses ranged the whole gambit. It really made me think. Up until then, I had never given the subject any thought. I guess I had assumed that my value was based on what other people thought. After all as we grow up, our parents and teachers are always guiding us in what to do and not do. We learn to lean on their opinions, and even to reflect on our self worth through our perception of their opinion.

I reflected on this question for some time. It came to plague me. After all, WHAT IS SELF WORTH, I asked myself. Surely it has to be OUR opinion of ourselves, otherwise it is not SELF worth. It would then be someone else’s opinion of our worth.

As I’ve gone through life, I’ve been so grateful to Dr.Lui for bringing that distinction to our attention. I’ve seen so many people plagued with low self worth, because they are relying on someone else’s opinion of themselves – their spouse, their colleagues, their friends, even their kids! They haven’t stopped to think that their own SELF worth belongs to them, not to someone else. In fact Terry Cole-Whittaker wrote a book called, ‘What You Think of Me is None of My Business,’ acknowledging the extent of this dilemma.

3 SECOND – Ask yourself the same question now: “WHAT PERCENTAGE OF MY SELF WORTH IS BASED ON OTHER PEOPLE’S OPINION?” If the percentage is high, you are putting your self worth and the stability of your emotional state at risk. Decide now to recapture your own self worth by realizing that you are the ONLY person who can determine that. And if you know someone plagued by this, ask them to consider the same question. Or have a focus tip mastermind session, and share these ideas. YOU CAN SUPPORT EACH OTHER IN RECLAIMING YOUR DESTINY. Try this and see YOUR results.