I will now share with you an amazing story about self-worth that will definitely make you think about your own perception of yourself.
A young man whose self-esteem was running low went to see a wise man for some guidance.
He said,
I have come seeking for advice,
For I am haunted by feelings of worthlessness.
I don't want to live anymore.
Everyone tells me that I am a foolish failure.
Please master,
Can you help me?
The wise man glanced at him and quickly answered,
I am terribly sorry but I am very busy at the moment and I cannot help you.
There is an urgent matter that I need to attend.
He paused,
Thought for a bit and then added,
If you help me though,
I will happily return the favor.
The young man noted that his concerns had once again been dismissed,
But he agreed to help the wise man nonetheless.
The older man handed him a small ring with a beautiful gem and said,
Take this ring along with my horse and go into the market.
I need to sell this ring to pay off a debt.
Don't settle for anything less than one gold coin.
Go straight there and come back as fast as you can,
Alright?
The young man took the ring and galloped off on the horse.
When he got to the market,
He showed the ring to various vendors.
Each one of them examined the ring with interest,
But as soon as they heard the young man was only selling the ring for one piece of gold or more,
They all laughed and turned him away.
The young man was confused until he got to one vendor who was nice enough to explain that a gold coin was too much of a high price and that the best he could do was a silver coin.
The young man was very discouraged by these words.
Fed up of this failure to sell the ring for the desired price,
He settled up the horse and set off in the direction of the old man.
Master,
I failed,
He said.
The best offer I could get for the ring was one silver coin,
But you told me not to settle for less than one gold coin.
One vendor told me that the ring is really not worth that much.
The wise man responded,
Oh,
I had no idea.
Perhaps it's a good idea to go and establish how valuable the ring actually is.
Take it over to a jeweler and ask what the price really is.
Don't sell it to him,
No matter what he offers to you.
Come back to me instead.
The young man got on the horse again and went to see the jeweler.
The jeweler examined the ring through a magnifying glass and then proceeded to weigh the ring.
Once he had finished evaluating it,
He turned to the young man and said,
Look,
Right now I cannot give you more than 58 gold coins for the ring,
But if you give me some time,
I'll buy it for 70.
70 gold coins?
The young man exclaimed.
He burst into a smile,
Thanked the jeweler and raced back to the wise man.
When he told the story,
The old man looked at him and said,
Remember,
My boy,
That you are just like this ring.
You are precious and unique.
Only a real expert can appreciate your true value.
Why do you waste your time listening to the opinions of fools in the market?
If your self-esteem or self-worth is affected by what other people think of you,
Who is setting your worth?
The answer is them.
And you allowed it,
By believing in it.
It is time that you take your power back.
