When Life Gets in the Way

“The price tag you put on yourself decides your worth. Underestimating yourself will cost you dearly.”

― Apoorve Dubey

I’ll be the first to admit that very often life does get in the way.  Some days the people around you, who you probably love very dearly, are more needy than ever before.  It happens.  Sometimes the kids need more Mom, sometimes the SO needs everything that only you can provide, and sometimes we just–blushing here just a little, overbook ourselves.

Overbooking is not a crime, as long as you don’t engage in the behavior too often.  If you find yourself overbooked more than twice a week, well friends that’s a whole other ball game.  You need to address it as quickly and efficiently as possible.

But those things aren’t the focus of this blog.  The focus here, as usual, is about you.  What are we worth to the only person who really counts in the entire universe? What do we mean to ourselves?  How valuable are we as all of the roles we undertake in the service of others, and how do we value ourselves specifically?

The question I really am asking is how does one prioritize oneself?

I chose many things in the course of my life.  I chose to be a dutiful daughter, a faithful sister, a reliable friend,  a responsible employee, a compassionate healthcare provider, a devoted wife, a loving mother, a fun grandmother.

When I chose my second career in life, I set out to be the best I could be at telling the stories I knew I needed to share with the world.  Into that goes a love of storytelling, a desire to hold my reader’s attention, and no little bit of humor.  I throw that in because I believe the ability  to laugh–mostly at your self–is the thing that takes us furthest in life.  And I always wanted to be successful.

The price tag I put on myself is high with good cause.  I believe I’ve earned the respect and admiration of those around me by sticking with things that others abandon when the task become difficult. I desire the entire journey rather than simply arriving at the destination.

I think we need to examine our self-worth more often and with a closer look at the things we’ve handled well, the completion of tasks either chosen or assigned and the critical eye of the authors we aspire to be.

We set the bar high on so many things, why not on our own self-worth?