I’ve always found the idea of harnessing self-worth valuable.

It’s this gradual concept that gets confused with ego and arrogance way to often, while in fact it’s a strength any man and his dog should inspire towards. When developed in the realm of reality, a realistic self-worth can position someone with a strong sense of confidence while understanding and having expectations for success within their abilities.

The term ‘self-worth’ sounds like one of those big, heavy concepts explored by ancient monks sitting under trees for six months that later arise as wise, all-knowing being.

But, I believe understanding what self-worth is and defining it within ourselves is much simpler. But, just like any skill, this takes time and patience – and discipline.

In a nut shell, self-worth is about how much you value yourself at your core. To steal a 15-year-old’s oral presentation notes, the Oxford dictionary defines self-worth as;

noun – another term for self-esteem.

But I, like many people on the internet, believe the dictionary is wrong. Self-esteem and self-worth are not interchangeable nouns. For one, it’s easy to have self-esteem when everything is falling in your favour, but that esteem can quickly fall away when the storm rolls in. Self-doubt and self-esteem can easily swap places in our minds, while knowing your value is a constant. Yes, one that shifts with market trends but has a solid RRP if you get the metaphor.

When you have strong self-worth, you know yourself even when things aren’t perfect. Building this understanding and accepting this takes time while self-esteem takes inspiration or an experience, drawing a usually uneducated conclusion for it. As such, knowing ones worth is a much more valuable characteristic than being influenced by your current talent and having unverified esteem.

Our society, community and culture plays a strong role in influencing our self-esteem daily. Speaking as an Australian, the metrics of our preserved value are dictated by our appearance, career success and social networks – and not the Facebook kind. It’s easy to start measuring your self-worth based on these external markers, but for most of us, this measurement would be just as superficial as the metrics themselves.

Real self-worth is about much more than ticking boxes on a cultural score sheet. It’s about being resilient, skill equipped and grounded in a crisis.

I recently started meditating and one thing that comes up straight away is the acceptance of self. ‘Don’t fight your breathing, just accept the air filling your lungs – don’t fight it or challenge it’. Your self-worth is define inside you by you, not external factors while a compliment from a stranger can boost your self-esteem instantly.

Essentially, you can’t boost someone’s self-worth but you can boost their self-esteem.

Understanding and embracing your value isn’t something that happens overnight, it is this continuous journey of self-discovery and growth. By regularly checking in with yourself, challenging negative beliefs, and practicing self-compassion, you can build a stronger sense of your own value.

In the end, self-worth is about recognising that you are valuable just as you are, not because of what you do or how others see you. It’s knowing “I got this” not waiting for someone to tell you that you do.