I'm Keshav Rai, and this is Khoj: an independent, subscriber-supported newsletter that summarises the best ideas from across the internet’s spectrum on innovation, society and soundness. With a purpose to better you in lifestyle and business. You can read Khoj for free or subscribe for our editions, and you can reach me anytime by replying to this email. If someone sent you this email, they’re asking you to sign up. You can do that here:
Greetings Baabae Nation!
We value ourselves based on what we want from this life, and in more ways than not it’s no different than how we value others. While I write this, there is no possible way I can tell what you want from your life at this moment, and hence this one essay will perhaps not change how you look at yourself. Luckily for us, it is not what I intend to do.
What I intend to do is make you think, about the value of self.
What is the self? Answering this, is like taking a shot at how the world was created.
While we might choose to describe ourselves as a mix of our achievements, skills, and emotions that we carry for others. Self has got to do with who we are for ourselves.
Self is the only being, that irrespective of their current value, is going to be you.
Bitcoins, your parents, friends, companions, career, and even cute pets are all only valuable in perspective to the self’s needs and desires.
Self-
Chances are you’ve come across the self words before, self-confidence, self-respect, self-love, self-care etc, words to describe how we feel about ourselves, how we think about ourselves, and how we act toward ourselves. It’s understandable if they all start to blend together for you; however, they are indeed different concepts with unique meanings, findings, and purposes.
“Self-value or Self worth is the most vital Self-Concept”
Our thoughts, feelings, and behaviours are deeply tied to how we value the self.
“a feeling that you are a good person who deserves to be treated with respect”.
This is a vital feeling.
It is a deep knowing that I am of value, that I am loveable, necessary to this life, and of incomprehensible worth.
The Self Worth Theory
The self-worth theory (Covington & Beery, 1976) posits that an individual’s main priority in life is to find self-acceptance and that self-acceptance is often found through achievement There are four main elements of the self-worth model:
Ability;
Effort;
Performance;
The three interact with each other to determine one’s level of self-worth. One’s ability and effort predictably have a big impact on performance, and all three contribute to one’s feeling of worth and value.
According to the self-worth theory, self-worth is determined mostly by our self-evaluated abilities and our performance in one or more activities that we deem valuable.However, the realisation of this and the effects it has on us can enable us to make changes to the way we perceive ourselves. Hence it would perhaps be a good idea to now create better yardsticks for ourselves. In a way that we aim to empower ourselves and not fall into the trap of negativity of not impacting the world in a better way. Together we can choose to unlearn and build a better world for all of us to live in.
So glad to have you on this journey of conscious living.
I hope you enjoy your time reading these posts, for more do check out my podcast. Each episode is a vital conversation with someone who’s making the lives of other people better.
Essentially with Keshav Rai