Good question! How do you show value to yourself?

If I don’t value myself, I won’t value another, so this value thing begins within us. We care for us, and then we care the same way for others. As I treat me, I will treat you.

How to value me:

• Realize I was made on purpose. I am not an accident.
• Know God wants me to be part of his family. When others reject me, God will help me.
• Begin to see hope through my fears.
• Take care of my body. It is a one-time treasure.
• Take care of my dwelling place. It gives me comfort.
• Don’t willingly let others take advantage of me. I am not a victim to another.
• Hold myself accountable and make things right when I do wrong.
• Keep my thoughts on the up and up. Think good thoughts about myself and others.
• Take interest in me. Look for things I like to do and do them.
• Discover what I’m good at and learn more.
• Repeat the above daily.

It cannot be said enough to people that they – each one of them (each one of you) are valuable!

God, however you feel about him, planned for you to be here. You did not evolve from the swamp to the ape to become you. You were born with a full brain, the ability and desire to observe, learn, grow and develop – and choose how you want to direct your life. No other animal has the free choice mentally to think what they want, when they want – but we do!

We have impact in this world. We can think up, make and create something helpful to improve the lives of us, our family and literally the world!

“Nah”, I’m just one person living on backstreet USA with no influence, no power, no abilities to affect anything.” So are you essentially stopping your own life from going anywhere?

Look past yourself and see something. Notice what’s really going on around you and decide (no matter how small of an impact it might make) to begin somewhere and let that somewhere take you out of your nowhere and let it blossom into something that just might surprise you.

Begin to take better care of yourself, value you, and you’ll find ways to value others and help them see their own value.

We all want, we all need to be noticed by others to prove that we’re necessary – not just another piece of the evolutionary pie that came unimportantly out of the murky mire.

You have gifts and talents different than anyone else – meaning no one else can take your place because of the value only you can provide.

Take heart. Your valuable life is worth living!

It’s kind of about others, but it starts with you.

When my kids were in swimming, each swimmer competed in every race of their choice, regardless of how experienced or inexperienced they were. The coach’s only request was for them to give their personal best. Then they swam, found out their times and in the next race, they’d compete against their previous time – seeking to improve themselves – not in comparison to the swimmer next to them. As each worked hard to improve their best score, their entire team became made up of stronger, faster swimmers and collectively they would win against another school’s team.

This concept can be helpful to us in many other areas of our lives. If we make our win factor against ourselves…doing better, being better, thinking better, acting better, than we did previously, instead of comparing ourselves to how another person is ‘winning’, we can still win without having to shove someone else down, put them down or discredit them to prove we won!.

There needn’t be hard feelings when another person or team did their best and exceeded you. You still won. You did your best!

The win was about you and your contribution!