We all want to be loved, appreciated, and respected, and we often depend on others to make us feel that way. Although other people can indeed foster those feelings within us, just as easily they can take those emotions away, making us question our own self-worth.

To have a happy life, we need to understand that we are important and valuable. Feeling worthy is a basic human need. It is our birthright, and not a trophy we have to earn as we tend to mistakenly think. Trusting ourselves and knowing that we deserve happiness are essential to fostering self-worth. On the other hand, when we have high self-esteem, we are more resilient to difficult situations and more motivated to go after what we won’t. We are not afraid of failures, because we know that they do not define us.

Our self-worth affects all of the aspects of our lives, personal and professional,  and is correlated with other personality traits such as: creativity, intuition, adaptability. 

We often misunderstand the true components of self-value. We think that our career, achievements, and looks define our value, but this could not be further from the truth. Those are external things which can be gone in a spelt of a second. 

You might wonder how you can boost your sense of self-worth.

• Stop getting caught up in the superficial hamster wheel. Your social circle, car, bank account, or social media following do not determine your value. 
• Do not let your inner voice become your biggest critic. When she starts getting out of hand, acknowledge her and remind her of all of the awesome things that make you so amazing.
• Stop assigning so much value to your relationship, or therefore lack of. Whether you are seeing someone or are single, does not make you more or less worthy. It just makes you, YOU. Perfect just the way you are. After all, the more you understand your worth, the better of a partner you will become.
• Focus on self-love and accept yourself just the way you are. It might seem hard to do, but at the end of the day, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Nobody is perfect, and it is better to be the original and only version of your unique self, than a copy or a secondary version of another person. After all, what we see on TV or social media is not the full picture, so there is no reason to compare yourself to anyone else. 
• Lastly, remember this famous quote by Buddha “You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” So give it to yourself.

As you embark on this new journey to improving your sense of self-worth, it might be necessary to do an inventory of the people you surround yourself with. You want to make sure that your nearest circle of friends can also serve as your support system, cheering you on, motivating you, and keeping you accountable. Some relationships might end as a natural side effect of this process, and it is absolutely ok. Those who are worth keeping around, will still be there. Those with low self-worth who are intimidated by your new found confidence need to embark on their own journey, and not risk dragging you along with them.