Topic Tuesday: Self-Worth

“Self-Worth” (By: Heather McAlister)

Why do we think that we are not worthy of being ourselves? We all were created with different personalities and different body types so why are we so unhappy with ourselves? The definition of self-worth is the sense of ones own value or worth as a person.

My whole life I have always done the opposite of what everyone else is doing. I never do “what’s normal.” I would try to fit in and be like everybody else, but what I found is that I ended up in the same place I was in the first place – where I don’t want to do what everyone else is doing! I have realized that when I would try to “fit in” and be like everyone else, I was fighting against who I was.

The media and magazines are always telling us what’s in and what everyone should be doing, but that does not excite me. I know now that its okay to want to be different. What that means is it is okay to want to be me.

What we need to realize is that we are all different. Just because you don’t like to go shopping all the time doesn’t mean you’re not stylish and just because you like to play “Pokemon Go” at 30 years old doesn’t mean you’re immature or weird.

Another issue I’ve seen (and have come across in finding my self-worth) is that I had high expectations for what the light at the end of the tunnel looked like. It was nothing at all what I had imagined it would look like. Some days are still hard.

When we think of recovery and overcoming adversity we think that we will suddenly be healed of all our pain, but that doesn’t happen. All that we can do as humans is to meet ourselves where we are now and remind ourselves that it will be okay and we can make it through stronger the next day, then the next and the next. We will never come out of adversity perfectly recovered. It is something that we will always need to work on and learn from.

Making it through your parents divorce, your struggle with an eating disorder, or the loss of a loved one and coming out of it still standing means you are worthy enough to be living on this earth. YOU made it through!

Say this to yourself now, “I made it through and I’m still standing!” Now think of everything you have done and everything that you have been through to get to where you are presently. How do you value your worth as a person now? You should feel pretty darn good about yourself.

About the Author

Heather is a Nashville native and a Holistic Health Coach. She became a Health Coach because of her own struggle with an eating disorder and years of body image issues. She created Dancer Inside to help young women with body image issues find balance in their lives by creating a healthy relationship with food and with themselves.