Working Ourselves Worthy

Our identities are often tied to our actions - what do I do (for work, for leisure, etc.) and how does it influence or define who I am? Often, when asked to describe ourselves, we may describe our occupations or hobbies or even how we relate to one another (mother, husband, etc.). Identifying ourselves through what we do helps us conceptualize who we are and how we fit into the world.

The flip side or challenging element of this is that we live in a society that values productivity - what we do often becomes how much we produce, and our value as people becomes so wound up in our accomplishments that we lose sight of our value just for being ourselves. At it’s worst, we feel we must push ourselves to the limits of exhaustion and self-sacrifice in order to prove our value in the world - even though we are, ironically, probably not our best selves when we’re at the limits of our capacity. In fact, those very actions can quickly spiral us towards burnout.

I know I’ve found myself in this struggle before, and have to remind myself that my worth is not dictated by my accomplishments. It’s hard!!

Is this something you’ve experienced? What are your thoughts?