Understanding your worth as a woman is important. In a society where women have historically faced discrimination from others in a variety of contexts and cultures, understanding that you do have value in the world is essential for feeling empowered.
Think of understanding and embracing your own worth as fuel for empowerment. When you understand how essential you are and that you do hold an important place in the world, you increase your feelings of empowerment.
If you struggle to see your own worth, it is possible to learn how to do it and gain that sense of worthiness in the world.
What makes some women not understand or embrace their own worth?
There are a number of reasons why women may not understand or embrace their own worth. For example…
- They may have negative naysayers in their lives who make them feel like they aren’t worthy.
Unfortunately, some women have toxic people in their lives who make them feel like they don’t have much worth. When you have a negative, toxic person constantly making you feel bad about yourself, you may begin to internalize those terrible messages about yourself and believe them to be the truth.
- They may have experienced a major trauma that affected the way they view themselves.
Some women have experienced major, intense trauma in their lives that made them see themselves in a negative light. After experiencing a major trauma, some women blame themselves for what happened, even if it wasn’t their fault. This can cause some women to believe they don’t have any worth or value in the world.
- They may have made a mistake or failed at something.
After experiencing a failure or making a mistake, some women may believe that they no longer have any self-worth. They may internalize the experience, allowing themselves to be totally defined by whatever went wrong.
What are the dangers of not understanding or embracing your own worth as a woman?
While feeling “less than worthy” is something most folks experience from time to time, there are some dangers associated with maintaining that attitude. When women don’t understand or embrace their own worth, they may find themselves experiencing some negative consequences as a result.
- They may skip over good opportunities because they don’t think they’re worthy enough to take advantage of them.
When women begin to doubt their own worth, they may believe they aren’t good enough to tackle a new challenge or try a new opportunity. They use their lack of self-worth to form limiting beliefs about themselves.
- They may develop serious issues with self-esteem.
Internalizing beliefs that they aren’t worthy can lead to serious self-esteem problems in women. If a woman constantly tells herself that she isn’t worthy, she will likely begin to accept that thought as the truth. Over time, this can really tank her self-esteem – it’s tough for anyone to feel good about themselves when they’re constantly feeling unworthy.
- Other people may try to take advantage of them.
When someone doesn’t have a sense of their own worth, they are more susceptible to being taken advantage of by other people. People who are comfortable using others for their own purposes are usually talented at spotting folks who have a poor sense of their own self-worth; because these women don’t understand that they’re worth more, others may use that as a tool to take advantage of them.
What are some strategies for embracing your own worth?
If you’re struggling to embrace your own worth as a woman, consider these strategies to give yourself a boost.
- Make an effort to talk to yourself positively.
Use verbal reminders of your worth when speaking to yourself. Many women tend to use negative or disparaging language when they speak or think to themselves; trade out those negative phrases for something kinder and more positive.
- Focus on your strengths and find ways to exercise them often.
Take advantage of opportunities to use your specific strengths, skills, and talents. Seeing yourself do well and flourish in tasks you know you can do well is a great way to emphasize your worth to yourself. Whenever you have a chance to exercise your specific skill sets, take advantage of them.
- Spend more time around supportive, positive people.
If you’re spending a lot of time hanging around negative people, you’re likely going to adopt some of their negative traits and attitudes. On the contrary, if you’re making an effort to spend more time around supportive, positive people, you’re going to adopt more of their traits. Surround yourself with your supportive and positive friends – not only will their good attitudes feel infectious, but they will also reinforce positive beliefs about yourself.
The better we feel about ourselves the better we make the world around us. Know that you are valuable and needed in this world!