From “The boy, the mole, the fox and the horse” by Charlie Mackesy.
https://www.charliemackesy.com/
“Do you have any other advice?” asked the boy,
“Don’t measure how valuable you are by the way you are treated” said the horse.
Bloody hell this one was a bit of a gut punch today. I can truly say that I have measured my worth by other’s yardsticks all my life. It’s annoying and frustrating and I want nothing more than to stop doing it. Thing is, I really don’t know how. It’s there as unconsciously as breathing or my heart beating, it’s deeply ingrained in me and I have no clue how to weed it out. Why do I need approval so badly? Why do I listen to criticism far more than compliments? How can I start to measure my own value positively?
If I look at the way I’ve been treated most of my life, it’s not a pretty picture. Even though I’m in a much better place now, I can’t seal tight the dam on all the nastiness that seeps into my water stream like the blackest ink. Turning all my bright white achievements a dirty grey. In fact, it’s worse now, because I don’t have physical negative presence in my life, so the only person doing the measuring is me, and yet I still come up lacking. This must link back to the “I am enough” phrase that makes me feel sick. I clearly need some serious brain reprogramming!
Do you know your worth? Do you recognise how valuable you are despite the way you’re treated? It must feel good, it’s definitely worth working on.
The People Person 