Too many times we believe other people’s lesser valuation of us and what we are worth. It may be a client, a boss, a friend, a parent, or a competitor. The reality is, valuations are opinions, and if anything can and should prove to us that we are more valuable, it is the examples through history of under valued talent, genius, and people.
If we aren’t giving all we have into what we do, we might should be scared or nervous. We might should think those people are right. However, if we are going all out for our passions and the evidence shows us our value, we should stick with it.
As an example, if we think a client could balk at a proposal or price, we should send the proposal anyway if we have thoroughly and honestly invested ourselves into knowing what the work is really worth. The risk of putting ourselves out there as valuable goes with my previous post on pandering and my post on resistance/struggle, because one of two things will happen, either the client will in fact balk, or they will realize the true value of our work.
If every now and then someone balks, that is great, because it means our value is proven and we would not want those people in our circle affecting our work, our families, or our lives (Pander). If many or all people balk, that means there may be a deeper issue: either we aren’t doing an extensive enough or effective enough presentation of who we are and why we are valuable, we are just in a season of growth where we are making the transition from pandering to being valued, or our valuation of ourselves is flawed (Struggle). Struggle causes growth, growth in ourselves and growth in others. There may be a time in the transition that is difficult and weird, because people’s perceptions of us are changing. There is a dissonance with the way they used to perceive us, unconfident in our value, and how they are seeing us now, confident in our value. That dissonance will go away over time.
The last note on all of this is that we must remain humble above all and rid ourselves of pride. Any skill, talent, or artistry we have is a gift from God and because we are standing on the shoulders of giants.
Let us work to be fine artists and skilled experts, and learn to value ourselves for what we are worth.