September Inspired Leap™ "Ah-Ha!" Newsletter
September 19, 2007
Topics Covered This Month
- Quote of the Month
- Upcoming Workshops and Retreats
- How Do You Determine Your Self Worth?
- Owning Your Intrinsic Worth
- Viewing Challenges Through the Lense of Being Worthy
- Final Thoughts on Your Intrinsic Worth
Dear Dianna,
I recently came face-to-face with one of my personal challenges—to believe in myself and to know that I'm worthy in all ways, despite whatever may be going on in my career and life. Do you ever question your worth? If not, you are truly blessed. If you do, or know of someone who does, read on to be inspired to remember your true worth has zero to do with your successes (or failures) in life.
Quote of the Month
To have that sense of one's intrinsic worth...is potentially to have everything.—Joan Didion, O Magazine, May 2004
Upcoming Workshops and Retreats
How Do You Determine Your Self-Worth?
Imagine knowing that you are truly worthy of all that you desire—love, money, happiness, excellent health, beauty, fun, success, and more—simply because you exist. Imagine facing rejection, criticism, your inner doubts, failure, and disappointment knowing that you are truly worthy of the best no matter what. How might that improve your ability to deal with challenges and rejection?
In the quote above, author Joan Didion reminds us that nothing is more important than to know we are worthy simply because we are alive. I was inspired by her linking the words "intrinsic" and "worth" together and double-checked the meaning of "intrinsic" in the dictionary (dictionary.com). Intrinsic is defined as "belonging to the essential nature or constitution of a thing; belonging to a thing by its very nature."
Do you know in every fiber of your being that you belong—you are worthy—simply because you exist? Imagine the powerful, positive effect on your life if you deeply knew your worth. So, how do you determine your self-worth? Accomplishments? Beauty? A large bank account? Education? Loving relationships? Past failures? Poor decisions? Difficult relationships?
What if there were no requirements for being worthy? What if you are automatically a card-carrying member of the "worthy club" the moment you are born and no one can take that card away? How might your life be different if you knew that to be true?
Owning Your Intrinsic Worth
I don't know about you, but I know I'd have a lot less stress and a lot more joy in my life if I could really own that I am truly worthy no matter what I accomplish or who I'm with. I also know that my beliefs about my worthiness (or lack of) affect my view of the world and my ability to receive intuitive guidance.
Henry Ford made the famous statement (and now proven true by brain research) that "If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right." Change that to "if you think you Deserve something or think you don't, you're right." Imagine how that statement is affecting your ability to achieve or receive your desires.
Author and athlete Dan Millman wrote about twelve gateways to personal growth in his book, Everyday Enlightenment. The first gateway he described was "Discover Your Worth." He made it the first gateway because owning your worth builds a strong foundation for accepting and benefiting from the lessons of the other gateways ("Reclaiming Your Will," "Energize Your Body," and more).
At its core, your level of self-worth is your answer to a single internal question: "How deserving am I?" Or, to put it more directly as it pertains to your daily life: "How good can I stand it today?" If you observe your life very closely, you will discover that you don't necessarily get what you deserve. Rather, you get no more and no less than what you believe you deserve. Only to the degree that you appreciate your innate human worthiness will your subconscious mind open up to life's bounty. Success involves talent, effort, and creativity, but first of all, it requires a willingness to receive. [p. 15, emphasis added]So, how good can you stand it? How hard on yourself are you? Have you judged yourself unworthy for past mistakes and transgressions? Consider how the advice you've probably heard a thousand times—to forgive yourself and others and to live in the present moment—makes even more sense when thinking about how your judgements affect your self-worth and thus your ability to achieve your goals.
Viewing Challenges Through the Lense of Being Worthy
Imagine that you've just been told you're not going to get promoted, get the contract, or get the hot date (s/he said no!) you desired. Most of us take it personally and feel varying degrees of insecurity and rejection (unloved or unloveable). Why? Because we look outside ourselves for confirmation that we are worthy, we belong, and we are loved. It's as if we need the positive energy of being affirmed to fill our inner well of self-worth.
Now imagine that your inner well of self-worth is always full and replenished naturally. How might you view that rejection differently? Would you be more inclined to see it as a simple clarification of your next step on your path ("Good information. I guess I'm not meant to go down that road, so another path must be opening up now..."). Like Thomas Edison, you would be able to see "failure" as clarity of the next step or of a path that no longer needs to be explored: "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."
If you struggle at times with owning—deep within your heart and soul—your intrinsic worth in this world (like most of us), it's important to come up with a few quick ways to pull yourself back into that truth. For me, just looking at Joan Didion's quote on my vision board pulled me back towards awareness and acceptance of my worth. Another way might be to have a list or some pictures that capture many of the phenomenal things you've done or people you've impacted. Or, create your own version of the classic holiday movie It's a Wonderful Life—before you get depressed or down on yourself—to understand how much worse off this world would be without you.
Look at what you're achieving right now in all areas of your life. Where you're not happy with the results, look to your inner beliefs about your worthiness of receiving what you want, and talk yourself into believing that you truly deserve what you desire. It won't happen overnight, but you can retrain your brain to align with your soul and know its intrinsic worth. Aren't you worth the small effort this requires?
Final Thoughts on Your Intrinsic Worth
I think Joan Didion could be right: knowing your intrinsic worth might really be everything. At minimum, it is the necessary foundation for achieving and receiving your dreams.
The challenge is that no one can impact your self-worth except you. You're the only one who can bring yourself back to the truth that your soul or higher self already knows and accepts: you are worthy of all that you desire. You must take responsibility for your self-worth and nuture it as the important key to success that it is. Perhaps all you need to do is to look yourself in the mirror every morning and tell yourself: Today, I am 100% worthy of receiving all that I desire! I'm off to my mirror. How about you?
With encouragement to leap ahead,
Dianna Amorde
President,
Inspired Leap Consulting Inc.Comments or questions about this newsletter? Email me at damorde@inspiredleap.com.
I look forward to hearing from you.. . .
If your company needs help with inspiring employees to reach new heights in productivity, creativity, morale, and integrity, please contact us at inspiredleap.com or 512-236-0090. If you need some more inspiration or more regular nudging to practice these steps, check out our website to see what's new to inspire you (a visit to The Quiet Room may be just what you need!).