Many people neither know their worth nor what to do with their lives. In many ways, we just like animals follow the rules of a herd; hence our lifestyles are all the same. In the herd rules, a random animal chooses to be the leader, and other animals who have no purpose simply follow this, not knowing where the leader is taking them. Nevertheless, humans, unlike animals, have been gifted free will. Even though they still follow the leaders just as animals do, they have the ability to think for themselves. After this evaluation, humans can evaluate their leader and compare themselves to the leader, which is a special ability that animals lack because they do not have free will. After comparison, individuals through self-actualization try to improve themselves to match the quality of their leaders. Self-actualization makes individuals think about their purpose in life, and it is at this point of thinking that people start to value their lives. With the idea of value, we start looking for answers for our purposes in life, such as why we were born and why others live in that way. By valuing our lives, we start excelling in different fields, such as sports, medicine, teaching, arts, psychology, administration, culture, and innovation. After excellence in a specific field, we begin searching for anything that we have that is unique from what others have. In search of this uniqueness, we start valuing our lives as precious things because we have become humans at this very point. The idea of value and worth begins from this moment, and it is this idea that the paper will focus on by answering the question, what is really my worth?
What are you worth to yourself?
To understand my self-worth, I must first define the term self-value because these two terms are related and are often used interchangeably. In the previous paragraph, we identified that value is the compelling force that makes individuals start searching for the uniqueness hidden in them. Self-value, in this case, concerns behavioral and emotional acts. Based on my borrowed opinion from Ackerman (2020), self-value means how people act towards what they value and towards themselves than how they feel about themselves compared to others. On the other hand, self-worth describes the unique feeling people have, making them feel they are good people who deserve to be treated with respect. We should not confuse self-worth with terms that look similar to it, such as self-esteem and self-confidence. Self-esteem means self-respect, while self-worth refers to favorable of ones-self, which is the same as favorable to self-esteem. Self-respect seeks to identify what humans think, feel and believe about themselves, while self-worth concerns recognizing that an individual is valued. On the other hand, self-confidence describes the feeling of competence and confidence in a particular area (Ackerman, 2020). You may have a higher amount of self-worth but at the same time have low self-confidence, say one specific subject in school. This differentiation of terms related to self-worth makes us have a deeper understanding of self-worth.
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According to Ackerman's (2020) self-worth theory, three main elements interact with each other to determine the level of self-worth. The elements listed include ability, effort, and performance, and they contribute to one's feeling of worth value. Based on the theories, self-worth is determined by performance and self-evaluation in the activities we deem valuable in our lives. From these activities, people can measure and compare their self-worth to the worth of others using five factors. The factors include appearance, net worth, people you know, your career, and achievements (Ackerman, 2020). In the appearance factor, people measure their self-worth based on physical appearance. Through physical appearance, self-worth is measured in terms of how much attention you can attract with your physical appearance. From net worth, individuals measure self-worth based on material possessions and their income. Under this factor, the wealthy are defined by the size of their bank accounts. Other people feel valuable and vital based on the ranks of people they surround themselves with or by being in relationships. On the other hand, a career makes people feel worthwhile and is the reason most people introduce themselves based on their careers, such as "I am doctor …, I am a lawyer..." among other titles (Ackerman, 2020). Finally, on achievements, individuals base their self-worth on the accomplishments they feel proud of achieving. Identifying different factors most of us use to ascertain their self-worth moves us to the initial question, what am I worth to myself?
I choose to measure my self-worth based on factors that I can control, not the external events occurring in my life that I cannot control. I am pleased with the person I have become, which makes me know who I am. I believe that I am a talented, smart, and successful individual based on my abilities and talents. Even though I sometimes score bad grades, I still think I am a worthy and valuable individual, and I feel just a slight effort will improve everything. Eipsten believes that being rigorous, provocative, engrossing and having range makes us learn from our failures and that this that will ensure we become creative achievers. Failure make us integrate broadly our abilities therefore allow humans to achieve their greatest strengths.
What Gives You Value to Others?
What gives me value to others refers to activities and behaviors that make me add value to others. Adding value to others does not mean that I change the person's behaviors and attitudes to improve his/ her life. It, however, means making the individual learn what I am teaching him/her through the experience. Adding value means making the lives of others more meaningful, more enjoyable, and easier or simply making their lives better. The essence of value remains enshrined in one's true nature of being, meaning for me to add value, I have to nurture the roots and the source of their being. I can never be the reason for others' harsh behaviors, but instead, I should teach them what to become through my actions, which adds value to others. I can add value to others by several means in several other ways to ensure that I leave everyone that I meet a better person than I found them, and here are just some of the ways I give value to others.
Being selfish is one of the means I believe I can use to add value to other people's life. It might be difficult to accept that being selfish adds value to others, but it offers others value differently; this means work the same way as the world works. Rand in the anthem promotes objectivism, which encourages individuals to be selfish to live better lives ( Rand, 2005) . Based on his philosophy, Rand (2005) believes selfishness will make people hardworking, improve their esteem, make people pursue their happiness, and give value to others. He criticizes collectivism, which demands people to contribute and exist for the wellbeing of society; he promotes objectivism by encouraging selfishness. To prove that being selfish adds value to others, let us consider how companies work and how they motivate their employees to perform better. When they want to increase their revenues and profitability, they will first consider employee motivation to achieve these goals for most companies today. When firms want to motivate their employees, they first make these people set targets that when the employees reach, they get rewarded. Companies design the targets to ensure their prosperity with a promise that if the employee meets the target, there is a possibility of a rise in the paycheck. By using words such as coordination, integrity, teamwork, companies seek to increase revenue flows by seeking employees to work selfishly towards meeting the set targets. When employees put effort into meeting the targets, they add value to the firm. Selfishness also applies in the societal setup. As long as one lives by the set of values and morals the society requires, one is free to chase his dreams selfishly, and by doing this can add value to societal members.
Secondly, I give value to others by appreciating, sharing, and surprising them. Many individuals get happy when their friends appreciate their actions, and this happiness might, on most occasions, add value to the lives of such people (Ackerman, 2020). For instance, a friend moves back to the neighborhood after accepting a job offer in the area. Appreciating such a person's decision to move back to the community through mail, calls, or messages telling them how you all are existed by the move can add value to the lives of these individuals. On the other hand, surprises make people feel special, and this feeling adds value to their lives. Surprising someone with gifts or just by phone calls makes them feel special as they get to think that others also care about them; this feeling adds value to them. Showing someone that you are caring for is also possible through sharing. Sharing books, what you read online, among other things, can show others that you care and that you value them, and this can add value to these people as they develop a feeling that friends are looking after their lives.
The other way I give value to others is by being sincere, as my actions when doing so show them that I value them. Forcing anyone to think about themselves or their self-worth is nearly impossible; therefore, we need the patience to make these people start thinking good about themselves (Ackerman, 2020). From time to time, a friend will always approach me and begin telling me their insecurities and fears. In these situations, I am occasionally forced to try helping them get out of these circumstances. Because helping them means making decisions, I do make sincere decisions based on my standards, even though these may sometimes not match those of my friends. Occasionally, after sharing my honest choices with them, these friends call back to appreciate my help. Being seen as a person of value by these people gives them back value. Because of the value they get is why they approach me for assistance whenever they have problems with self-value. My presence in their problems brings additional value to the lives of my friends, and all this is because of my honesty; I do give them honest opinions, and maybe this is why most of them keep on coming back.
Finally, I do give value to others by being uniquely me. Being unique means enjoying doing what I enjoy doing based on my personality, strengths, and skills. When I am uniquely me, I can blend my skills to bring out my unique perspective to the world through paying attention, discovery, thoughts, and ideas. Being me mainly occurs in a classroom setup, where I do openly ask questions and respond to those the lectures or peers ask based on my unique thoughts. Whenever I ask questions based on my perspectives, I feel that others also find the courage to ask more questions. I believe that beginning this process opens doors for others to express their unique self and adds value to their personal lives.
What is valuable to you?
Family is the most valuable thing in my life. Even though life in the world is becoming too complicated and people are beginning to value things we can live without, especially those with monetary value tags, I cannot live without my family. Family is a fundamental value without a price on it and is made up of essential people in my life. Epstein (2019) talks about early specialization and explains why narrow specialization may be harmful. He promotes the idea that our parents influence our decision-making, which is passed down to subsequent generations; this is why I consider family so valuable. The time I was in pre-school, my parents have been there for me. They taught me and filled me with a load of moral values. These moral values are still essential in how I live and interact with people, such as the "give respect take respect" lesson they taught me will always guide me throughout my life endeavors (Michigan State University, 2012). Besides morals, my mom taught me how to take after myself and deal with the challenges life would present me as I was growing up. Even today, they still support me in whatever I ask them to, and for this care, support, and love they give, I certainly value my family.
Health, which in my opinion, makes me alive, is the second thing I value most in my life, mainly because it I am always happy to be alive every day because I believe that I am lifeless and nothing without health. As Holiday (2019) puts it, we are incapable of seeing what is essential in the world if we are blind to what is going on within us." The statement is vital as it allows me to give my life and health more value. Being lifeless will mean I am not able to do anything. Health will enable me to do whatever I want to do, such as learn physically. I am in school. I have good mental health because a healthy body simply means a healthy mind. I have plans with my life because I will be alive to carry out these plans. No life means no value, and for this reason, I firmly believe that health is an essential value in my life.
The third value in my life is the connection, and this value allows me to develop interpersonal relationships with other people. Family, friends, colleagues have shaped up my personality and made me a valuable person. The connection has been essential in building relationships and friendships, which have proved critical in my success. People need support from one another to achieve meaningful objectives in their lives and support them during hard times. Through friends, life and especially learning become meaningful as you get people to laugh with or relax during my free time (Michigan State University, 2012). My friends also bring out the best in me as it is always competition, which explains why I always want to score higher grades.
Finally, self-improvement is the other value that makes me work hard in class and every other activity I take part in because I want to prove myself wrong. I have personal goals that I want to accomplish, and this is only possible if I can change some of my actions to achieve what I want. Self-improvement makes me develop persistence and optimism. I want to be a successful individual, and this being my goal, I have to work hard and endure all the challenges that come my way to ensure that I will achieve this dream (Ackerman, 2020). I have to take my education seriously by improving in areas that are not working well to achieve my main objective one day.
The value of the degree
By earning a bachelor's in Healthcare Administration, I will automatically increase my self-esteem, which concerns how I value myself. According to Holiday (2019), it is only in stillness that a person can find peace and tranquility because of the freedom the state brings. The degree will harness self-control and make me have a happier and peaceful life; therefore, it will increase my self-esteem . Feelings such as being successful and good enough will come when I have my degree. The degree will make me feel confident and empowered in my field of operation. People occasionally measure the sense of self-worth based on their emotions and intuitions, and educational level significantly affects these measurement methods (Equating education with self-worth, 2018). The accomplishment of personalities and abilities is the most important thing as far as the worth is concerned, and earning this degree will be a personal achievement, therefore determining my worth. The value of this degree will be visible in many areas in my life, such as it will increase my access to job opportunities, prepare me for an extraordinary career, and increase my earning potential, among others.
Earning this degree will be valuable in my life because it will earn me employment as well as increase my employment opportunities. Today, most employers require a bachelor's degree as an entry requirement in employment. The degree will open up doors that otherwise would have been inaccessible. Besides opening up doors, the degree will allow me to choose where I want to work. The degree comes with many job opportunities, therefore a sense of freedom. Apart from freedom, the study process has allowed me to connect with a lifelong network of advisors, professors, colleagues, and employers. This network is essential will also open doors of opportunities as far as employment is concerned. The college, for instance, provided us a window to go for attachment. This attachment expanded the network even further as I got to meet industry leaders I would contact in the future for more job opportunities. The degree will also act as a critical factor that will influence my ability to get promotions once employed in my field of study.
Secondly, my degree will be valuable to me as it will be a critical tool that will allow me to earn money hence living. Based on the Bureau of Labor Statics data, earnings differ depending on your education level (Torpey, 2018). Those with no high school diplomas earn approximately $27040 annually, while those with diplomas earn roughly $ 37024 yearly (Torpey, 2018). Compared to those with degrees, the two groups earn lower amounts as bachelor's degrees assure people an average earning of about $43472 annually (Northeastern University, 2020). The higher the academic level of an employee, the higher their salaries. Therefore, this degree will be a bargaining tool for my salaries because of my advanced education. Additionally, obtaining this degree will be valuable since it will positively return on my investment in education after earning my paycheck. I have paid fees and took student loans to complete this degree (Walden University, 2018). Even though the degree does not guarantee employment, it makes the job market friendlier and makes me more positive in the unfriendly unemployment environment. Because I am positive that I will find a job afterward, I am sure the degree will make me realize my dream of getting a job; therefore, I believe it was a positive investment.
Finally, having a degree makes me enjoy higher job satisfaction due to the sense of accomplishment the degree brings, and this also will improve my self-esteem. By earning this degree, I will develop a sense of purpose, independence, and security (Yes College, 2017). The degree will provide me with access to benefits such as enjoying better pay and job security, which would motivate me to succeed in whatever field I will be employed in. With motivation and job satisfaction, I will improve the general quality of my life, which means having good health and supporting my family, some of the essential values that I believe. Growth and improvement of my self-esteem will result from the experiences I have gained through the studies. I have acquired many skills like management, teamwork, and writing which are all necessary for the job market (Northeastern University, 2020). This experience will boost my self-esteem when I get a job, as I will have developed confidence due to the sense of achievement. I have developed different ways of handling complex problems that I expect to face once employed, and this will be essential, as it will help me manage my stress levels once employed. Increased self-esteem will also be critical for boosting my decision-making skills, improving my mobility, and improving my life quality.
In conclusion, my self-worth comes after I have valued the unique and precious things in my life. Only after realizing my self-worth is when I can add value to the lives of others or even identify the most valuable things in my life, such as family and health. Completing college and being awarded a degree will boost my self-worth. The same degree will also be essential in my career and life; therefore will add value to my life.
References
Epstein, D. (2019). Range: Why generalists triumph in a specialized world . Riverhead Books.
Rand, A. (2005). Anthem . Penguin. http://thoughtaudio.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/TA0011_Anthem_AynRand.pdf
Holiday, R. (2019). Stillness is the Key . Portfolio. https://clearyzimmermann.com/sites/default/files/webform/employment-contact-form-attachments/pdf-stillness-is-the-key-ryan-holiday-pdf-download-free-book-cd26c33.pdf .
Michigan State University. (2012, June 29). The importance of helping teens discover self-worth. MSU Extension. https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/the_importance_of_helping_teens_discover_self-worth
Yes College. (2017, November 27). What is the value of a college degree? YesCollege. https://yescollege.com/post/college-degree-roi/
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Torpey, E. (2018, April 10). Measuring the value of education: Career outlook: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/careeroutlook/2018/data-on-display/education-pays.htm
Walden University. (2018, October 31). Research-indicates-value-of-a-college-degree-extends-beyond-career. Accredited Online University | Online Degree Programs | Walden University. https://www.waldenu.edu/programs/resource/research-indicates-value-of-a-college-degree-extends-beyond-career
Northeastern University. (2020, January 9). 10 benefits of having a college degree. Bachelor's Degree Completion. https://www.northeastern.edu/bachelors-completion/news/is-a-bachelors-degree-worth-it/
Ackerman, C. E. (2020, July 31). What is self-worth and how do we increase it? (Incl. 4 worksheets). PositivePsychology.com. https://positivepsychology.com/self-worth/
