You Deserve To Recognize Your Worth

As the soulful singer India Arie states: if “you wanna heal your body, you have to heal your heart.”

Many people still only view health as an outward or physical appearance. They take pictures and videos at the gym, compare muscle sizes or compare waist circumferences. They measure weight or BMI as if it is a measurement of our worth as a human being. They look at you face-on, and from there decide whether you are “healthy” or not. But health goes much deeper than the physical. The truth is, I didn’t start to pick up a healthy lifestyle until after I kicked out the major stressors in my life.

I said no to toxic and judgemental people. I said no to people who were one-sided and only cared about their preferences and opinions. I said no to people who were demanding and selfish. I said no to putting myself second. It sounds like a miracle, but just like that, a weight had lifted off of my shoulders. I finally felt free.

With the wrong people out of sight and out of mind, I no longer saw myself as secondary. I felt like someone worth taking care of, worthy of love. But I did not expect this from someone else, I expected it from only myself. Naturally, I took initiative and slowly made healthier lifestyle choices. I opted for vegetables and fruits rather than chips or chocolate. I parked and walked, rather than driving the entire way to a meeting. I did stretching and floor exercises at home while watching my shows, rather than simply sitting and watching Netflix. I no longer felt like taking care of myself was a chore, it was something I did automatically.

This is something that can be very tough for people, especially those who have been very passive in their life, who have been surrounded by narcissistic and selfish people, who have been brainwashed from a young age into thinking that they only exist to serve others. The truth is, you, just as any human being on this earth, are worthy. No more or less worthy, but you are worth something. You do not live to serve your boss, you do not live to please your coworkers, you do not live to obey your spouse. You are not a slave.

So realize your strengths, embrace your redeeming qualities, and dismiss people who treat you like you are a beneath them. It doesn’t matter what size you are, it doesn’t matter what color your skin is, it doesn’t matter what gender you identify as or what your sexual orientation is, you are not any less worthy of a human being. So forget the haters, and live your life surrounded by the right people, and take care of yourself, you deserve it.