KNOWING YOUR WORTH

Knowing your WORTH by Betsy Bennett

Ihave learned that the true power of a Queen is knowing her self-worth. Self- worth is the sense of one’s own value or worth as a person. Knowing or discovering who you are is the most essential element to living a full life. This concept of self-awareness has been highlighted from the ancient times when the great thinker,

Plato, declared, “Man, know thyself.” In our own times,

Oscar Wilde captured it correctly in his quote, “To live is the rarest thing in the world.

Most people exist, and that’s all.” Now tell me, where is the lie? Individuals do not live up to their true potentials simply because they fail to figure out their self-worth. How you value yourself determines your projection and trajectory in life. That includes your growth, your persistence, your relentless pursuit to succeed, your determination and drive, your relationships, and even your radiance and glow. Having a sense of selfworth means that you value yourself enough to know you deserve it all, you are worthy of it all, and you can get it all. It is a deep knowing that I am of value, that I am loveable, necessary to this life and of incomprehensible worth. Living the horror of domestic violence, I oftentimes wonder why me? I should never have bothered myself with such a thing but rather think of the queen I am, how much I am worth, and that no matter the circumstances, I am worthy of love and respect. Had I known my self-worth, I would have challenged the warrior in me and fought for what was

and shame for many years as a battered wife. I lost my dignity and pride all because I

knew not what I was worth. Discovering my self-worth led to the enhancement of my self-esteem, self-confidence, self-appreciation, self-acceptance, self-respect, selflove, self-care just to name a few of the many positive “self” words there are.

When we value ourselves enough, we elevate our sense of well-being and foster a healthy growth and development. You must first love and respect yourself before anyone else can. You yourself as much as anybody in the entire universe deserve your love

How then do we measure our self-worth? It’s not measured by our job, social status, to-do lists, wealth, education, competition, perfection, title or any other thing we run the risk of losing. It is relatively measured by knowing whether you are great or terrible, or even somewhere in between that you are still a complete and awesome human being deserving of love, respect, happiness, and fulfillment, no matter what.

Ask yourself: . What if I lost it all? . What if all I had was myself? . How would that make me feel?

You should possess that compelling notion of your unfathomable worth and find the courage to move on. I was enslaved to my thoughts, feelings, failures, shortcomings, but when I stumbled on my self-worth, I realized that speaking my truth would set me free, knowing that once I have accepted my flaws, no one could use them against me. Locating my self-worth allowed me to step out boldly and walk in the intended purpose God designed for me. I was no longer terrified of the dark, but became conscious of the fact that I am the light in that darkness, and allowed my presence to not only illuminate but permeate the atmosphere. I implore you queens to elevate your self-worth level. In doing so, you must: become clear on your values, be assertive, have a heart of gratitude, eliminate doubt and negative self-talk, pronounce positive

importantly, break up with fear, and engage faith. Proverbs 31:25 says, “She is clothed in strength and dignity and she laughs without fear of the future.” Ralph Waldo Emerson says, “Once you make a decision the universe conspires to make it happen.”

Queens! Make the decision to locate your self-worth and let it position you into relentlessly pursuing what sets your soul on fire!