Is Your Sense of Self Worth Costing You Money?
What if you gave someone a birthday present and they handed it back to you saying, “You shouldn’t have! I can’t accept this from you.” It might be slightly insulting to you, as if you went too far and made that person feel indignant. All dignity aside, there is something wrong with this picture.
Why do some people have a hard time just saying thank you with a warm smile when someone offers generosity?
I always used to be the kid who would push a lawn mower back and forth across the neighborhood cutting yards to make a little extra money. And when somebody offered me more than what I thought was fair, I couldn’t accept it. I would say, “You can’t pay me that much.” As if to say I wasn’t worth receiving that money. And that’s exactly what I was saying in unspoken terms.
If I was forced to take the money then I felt even worse. I felt like I was ripping my neighbor off, or even stealing from them. I felt my own sense of dignity in not taking more than I felt I was worth. I couldn’t have been more wrong, and I couldn’t have picked a better way to limit my schema of abundance for the future. At some point I realized that had to change.
I’m not the only one with this problem. It can be a difficult thing to take someone’s hard earned money. Many people are living with a stigma about accepting abundance. So now in a more “grown-up” setting we might have a landscaping service and need to charge customers thousands of dollars instead. How will this stigma accept our actual wealth?
The same principles apply whether your a 12-year-old cutting neighborhood yards, or a landscaping mogul offering a pricier service. You will be pushing money and abundance away from you in ways you may not realize if you have a low sense of self worth. You might never ask for what customers are willing to pay you, and you might never accept what people are willing to pay you.
In order to change this perception, you have to realize that you deserve the abundance that exists around you just as much as anybody else. Why not? Why wouldn’t you deserve that extra money somebody is willing to pay you. If someone else sees a higher worth in you, then why can’t you see it also? And in the same sense, why don’t you deserve a higher salary? If you are giving your best, then you deserve the best just as much as anybody else. Don’t be fooled by your own “dignity.” There is a large difference between stealing and being able to accept life’s gifts of abundance.
These same principles apply to every facet of abundance. Money is just one of many expressions of abundance. And money is not too much different from time, love, patience, etc. It’s easier to accept when people offer extra time, love, or patience. But why does money have such an awkward stigma when it comes to acceptance? If you look through money, you will realize it is just another form of abundance we should welcome into our lives instead of chasing away. Change your perception of money and see how it changes your wealth.
Nobody in their right mind wants to pay you more than they think you are worth, and they don’t! So when you perceive someone else is paying you more than your worth, it’s your view of your own self worth that’s skewed. The best thing you can do is accept what’s being offered to you, and say thank you with a warm smile. A lowered perception of self worth will cause you to accept a lower paying salary then you are worth, you will only seek jobs you think you are worth, you will only ask for a lower price, etc. Don’t limit your wealth through your sense of self worth.
Related article: The best thing you can do to make money
