As imperfect beings and individuals seeking growth in life, there is the constant need to improve on areas we deem fit to work on.
Last week, four key areas to make a project in our lives was looked on and you can read it here and we would be looking at the rest this week. Below are other key areas to work on in life.
MONEY MANAGEMENT : There are so many people who do not know how to manage their finances irrespective of how much they have or earn. It is very crucial we learn to be disciplined with our finances.
Its so unfortunate that there are people who live on immediate gratification. They want to have all the fun they can have, taste everything good, buy everything they set their eyes on all at once with no plans for the future and a little bit of savings against rainy days.
Don't try to spend all your money in one day trying to fit in, please or impress people around you because at the end of the day you alone are responsible and accountable for your actions.
Learn to live within or below your means and not above or your means. When you try to live below or within your means, you would be able to adapt in any environment or career and thrive.
Read : PLANNING AHEAD FINANCIALLY
YOUR JOB : While there are many people who find themselves in jobs that they love, there are some of us who also find ourselves in jobs we do not really like.
Now, you may not like the job you are into, but you can learn to love it while you are still at it. If you are in a job you do not like it's because you do not have a better option or that you are being paid well.
Whatever the case, you need to learn to love your present job else you would be frustrated and your performance or output would be affected as well and if this happens, you could be out of a job before you know it.
So, whether you like your present job or not, learn to give it your best for as long as you are there so that when you eventually leave, your impact would be felt for a long time.
The job might not be all juicy or flexible like you would want but then again, its not just all about what you get from that job but what you are becoming in the job.
What you become in your job (patience, resilience, perseverance, discipline, training etc) will take you a long way in life even after you have long left the job.
You can read : IS HARD WORK CHARACTER?
SPIRITUALITY : In all we do, our spiritual lives is of utmost importance. We should endeavour to have a sound relationship with God at all times.
It is said, whatever happens in the physical had already taken place in the spiritual. This is why, we must not joke with our spiritual lives at all because through prayers, we can override and overturn every evil verdict.
Our relationship with God shouldn't be only when we need something from Him but also when we have all that we desire.
We can develop our spiritual lives through prayers and searching His word ( the Bible) daily. This helps us to relieve stress, increases our faith and hope in God especially in difficult moments.
It also gives us a reason to keep pushing forward even in the face of challenges because we know He will never leave us nor forsake us.
Read : FAITH WITHOUT PATIENCE
SELF-WORTH : I believe, if you work on the above points in your life, your self worth and self esteem would be greatly improved.
Your self worth is your internal state of being that comes from understanding who you are, how you love yourself and your acceptance of you irrespective of your flaws.
It indicates how you value and love yourself irrespective of what people think or say about you. Your confidence and faith in you is unshakable despite outside forces or the outcome of your actions. You remain steadfast and consistent, no matter what happens.
It is lack of self worth that in most cases lead to low self esteem in life . While self worth is having an awareness of who you are and loving you for you, self esteem on the other hand is believing in your abilities, capabilities and competency.
People with low self esteem feel poorly of themselves and see themselves as inferior to others. Such feelings can lead to one not living his/her true potentials in life.
Such people will find it difficult to pursue personal goals which will in turn make them live other people's dreams. They lack the ability to put efforts in their personal careers or dreams in life.
Having low self esteem can lead to you comparing yourself with others all the time and seeking validation from people.
People with low self esteem seek acceptance and happiness in people. They feel better about themselves when given nice compliments.
We all feel good when we are given nice compliments and when given, gladly appreciate it but don't let your entire being or happiness depend on it.
Let your happiness and validation come from within you and from your faith in God. When you learn to be your own happiness and your own validation, that can never be taken from you at all.
You don't need to seek validation from something or someone you can lose but from what stays with you forever and that is you.
The material things or people you seek validation from often won't always be there. The material things could vanish and the people can leave someday as they also have their lives to live.
The lack of self worth and self esteem can lead to;
- Depression, suicidal tendencies and untimely death when you feel unappreciated and accepted by others.
We have seen people commit suicide due to failed relationships, nonacceptance or rejection, failures in one's aspirations etc.
These people committed suicides because they felt they couldn't go on with life without certain people in their lives or that they couldn't face people or society after having failed in certain areas of life.
The lack of self worth and self esteem has made so many people settle for less especially in relationships that they would have walked out from but stayed in and enduring all kinds of abuse.
- Stagnancy in life in the sense that one is unable to pursue his/dreams because of low self esteem.
They are rather trying to live someone else's dreams or life. Such people compare themselves with others and want to have what others have even when they have low budgets and as a result, would do anything just to keep up appearances instead of living life at their own pace and gradually growing their way.
- Insecurity which stems from low self esteem often leads to lack of confidence in one's self. Feeling insecure can have a toll in your physical and mental health.
It breeds negative thoughts causing an inability to fit in with pears, pursue and reach personal goals and difficulty in finding acceptance.
It also breeds anxiety and worry which can lead to depression. There is also the fear in meeting up with daily challenges and inadequately equipped to overcome the challenges of life as a result of insecurity.
Insecurity has destroyed so many relationships due to fears of fitting in, being accepted or fear of losing a partner and has also led to so many suicides.
It can also have negative effects in your relationships especially with the opposite sex as well as affect your performance or input in your job.
- Lack of vision. One of the results of lack of self worth is the lack of vision or inability to pursue one's dreams. People who lack self worth will hardly have a sense of purpose in life.
Everyone of us have been ordained by God to live a life of purpose here on earth and the only way we can do that is to identify our dreams and visions in life but unfortunately, the lack of self worth and self esteem has prevented so many people in living their dreams.
Today, we read and hear of great men who lived or are living their dreams and we draw inspiration and motivation from these people.
We have people who are late such as Jim Rohn, Myles Munroe, Albert Einstein, Abraham Lincoln and so many others yet we still feel their impacts here on earth.
And of cos, we also have living legends such as Joel Osteen, Less Brown, Oprah Winfrey and lots more who are living their dreams creating impacts in the lives of people and the society at large
We also have Bible characters such as David, Joseph, Abraham, Ruth, Ester, Paul, Jesus and others whom God used to bless mankind leaving a mark here on earth.
The lack of self worth can prevent you from leaving your dreams as well as leaving a mark here on earth for generations to come making you as one of those who just existed and did not live.
But when you have a self worth or learn to develop yourself worth you would have;
- A progressive mindset instead of a stagnant one. You would see yourself growing in your career, physical life, spiritual life, dreams and visions. You would have a sense of purpose and a reason to live life everyday even in the face of challenges.
- A consistent life style irrespective of failures experienced or fear of failing in the future. People's opinion of you wouldn't affect how you view yourself or how you value yourself and what you do.
- A visionary lifestyle. Your vision gives you a sense of purpose and you would always see yourself living and pursuing your dreams and vision.
Because you have a vision, nothing weighs or brings you down physically, emotionally or spiritually because your eyes are set on a goal and ultimately your vision.
- A peace of mind irrespective of what is happening around you, what people say or think about you. You are not shaken or deterred by negative life experiences.
- An exemplary life style worthy of emulation by your contemporaries and even for generations to come. Your dreams and visions make you an inspiration or motivation for others who are finding it difficult to pursue and live their dreams.
- A long life. A sense of self worth that gives you a peace of mind, progressive life style and a life of purpose also enables you to live a long life here on earth because you are devoid of depression, anxiety or worries.
You are able to live life and grow at your pace not comparing yourself with what other people have or who they are.
Read : WHAT'S YOUR SELF- WORTH ?
When you learn to make yourself your most important project and work on yourself mentally, emotionally, physically spiritually, financially and otherwise, you would hardly be moved by what people say about you or what happens from the outside because your inside is well developed.
Your self worth or esteem can only come from you and God and not what people think or say about you. Search God's word and see what He says about you and let stick in your head.
For instance, He said in 1st Peter 2:9 "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."
He also said in Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope."
Have the mentality of a royalty and people's opinion of you will not get the best of you. Believe that you would be successful in that dream God has placed in your hands despite the number of times you fail or fall cos the plans of God for your life will surely come to pass.
Keep working on yourself. I became my biggest project a long time ago and still am. I had to learn how to be resilient in life because life itself had dealt me lots of blows. I had to be my own strength and motivation.
I also had to improve my relationship with people, and identify what relationship is best for me and which is not.
One major area I worked myself on was building my confidence and still trying to improve on that. I have also learnt not to allow insignificant things or things beyond my control get the very best of me. Once I begin to experience such I wave it off and move on to better things. You too can do it.
Despite all, I am still a work in progress and we all are irrespective of the height or level we have attained in life because there will always be room for constant improvement.
Quote for the day "Make yourself a priority. At the end of the day, you are your longest commitment."
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