Individual Worth

Lately I can't stop thinking about self esteem or what seems to be the lack of it. I have been aware that women especially are self deprecating and this has been bothering me. It doesn't matter how pretty someone is, how stylish they present themselves or how accomplished they are they are always putting themselves down even and it seems especially after a compliment. This is troubling to me. I am aware that the media has great influence on how we view ourselves and often we tend to compare ourselves to others but we shouldn't. We should realize that what the media portrays often isn't realistic. It could be that one receiving a compliment doesn't want to appear rude, but a simple thank you would be better than fault finding with one's self.

This scripture keeps running through my head:

"The worth of a soul is great in the sight of God."
D&C 18:10

This semester I am doing my rotations in mental health and this past week I had my first opportunity to be around the "mentally ill." This was an eye opener for me because naturally my classmates and I were a little nervous, nervous because such patients are unfamiliar to us. As the morning began and I was meeting these people it occurred to me that I had no reason to be nervous. After spending some time with them I had such admiration for them and love. By love meaning Christlike love. It occurred to me that everyone is special and should be treated with the same respect and kindness regardless of their mind, body, or so called status in life. I feel that if we would all make more of a conscious effort to focus more on others instead of ourselves we could and would make a difference in the lives of others.

With that said, we are all good at something. Instead of comparing ourselves, because let's face the facts, someone might and most likely always will be better than us but that shouldn't be our focus. We should focus on becoming the best person WE can be.