At its core, your level of self-worth is your answer to a single internal question: "How deserving am I?" Or, to put it more directly as it pertains to your daily life: "How good can I stand it today?" If you observe your life very closely, you will discover that you don't necessarily get what you deserve. Rather, you get no more and no less than what you believe you deserve. Only to the degree that you appreciate your inner human worthiness will your subconscious mind open up to life's bounty. Success involves talent, effort, and creativity, but first of all, it required a willingness to receive. You know, rain may pour down from the heavens, but if you only hold up a thimble, a thimbleful is all you receive.

When a window of opportunity appears, do you pull the shade?  Do you know, the most sensitive, self-reflective souls among us - those of us with the highest vision, ideals, and standards - often have the lowest sense of self - worth, because we constantly fail to meet our own idealized standards.

If self-worth had no impact on your actions - if it were contained within the feelings dimension alone - it's only power would be over your moods. Sometimes you'd feel worthy (a pleasant feeling) and sometimes not ( an unpleasant feeling). And that would be that.

However, low self-worth also influences actions, generating tendencies to sabotage your own efforts, so that things just don't seem to turn out well. You feel unlucky at times or feel as though you are being punished, when in reality you are only punishing yourself. You do this through behaviors of which you aren't fully aware. Or, like the alcoholic who knows he drinks but doesn't view it as a problem, you may be aware of your behavior without acknowledging its destructive impact.

I have never known anyone who wasn't affected at some time or in some way by self-sabotage or subtle self-destructive behavior in the areas of money, relationship, education or career. The question repeats itself in different forms: How high will you rise? How good can you stand it?

The moment we recognize the degree to which our difficulties are self-imposed, we begin to heal them. We end self-sabotage only by taking responsibility for our choices and actions that created it. Only when we stop blaming our boss or government or parents can we change our lives and say with conviction, "I chose where I am now, and I can choose something better.

Inside you is untapped strength of will, of spirit, of heart. The kind of strength that will not flinch in the face of adversity. You have only to remember your purpose, the vision that brought you to Earth-the vision that will take you to the stars-to the depths of the oceans and up the stairway to the soul. Great strength of will resides within you, waiting for expression.

From the book: EVERYDAY ENLIGHTENMENT by Dan Millman

Tim Forrester AMERICAN WRITERS AND ARTIST, INC.