Opinion: Working What You Got Will Lift Your Self-esteem

Words I live by to make sure your uniqueness is always employed even if you're not

Image by Kaitlyn Millet from Pixabay

If there’s one thing I can always win at, it’s being me. Nobody can be me better than I can be me.

It took a while in life but I finally came to understand that I am a unique expression of life and inner light.

Yeah. I can work with that (now).

For a long time, I didn’t realize my worth. But, once I became aware, I understood that I had work to do. And that work entailed working on me.

And oh what a piece of work I’ve been!

I had to become my own work project to unpack, declutter, and reinvent myself on all levels physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, socially, and financially.

For instance, I thought that I was ugly until I was 14 years old. That’s a heavy burden for a child to carry, although it’s something that’s normal for a child to go through.

But looking back, I realize that my feelings were breaching the boundaries of normal. The fact of this was likely due to growing up with anxiety issues.

I thought that I was ugly, and I had no idea how to think otherwise until one day when an older guy in my neighborhood said that I was pretty.

I was like, “Who, me?”

“Yes, you. You are a beautiful girl.” He reassured me, not trying to be a perv or anything. I didn’t get that kind of a vibe from him. I felt like he was genuinely giving me a compliment and that he truly believed that I was cute.

So, I went straight home and glared at myself in the mirror for a few minutes, turning my head at different angles.

“Well, ok. Maybe I am kind of cute, I guess.” I said to myself.

And, from that day on, I saw myself in a whole new light and began working on being the best me that I could be.

And though I went through some ups and even more downs in life, even until this day, I’ve always known that working on myself was a good thing. And it was precipitated by the kind words of someone else.

One never knows what a few simple words can do for or to a person. Words can tear a person down or lift that person up.

So, now, no matter what anybody else thinks (or even if I start thinking negatively about myself sometimes), I put myself to work to fix whatever needs fixing in my life.

It took a while but I came to realize that even though I’m not my definition of the near-perfect that I’d like to be, I am what I am.

And I have what I have to be grateful for, and I’m just always going to work with what I got.

No matter what.

Just like the lyrics of Mary J. Blige, in her song “Work That” saying:

It’s okay show yourself some love
Na na work what you got
Don’t worry bout who’s saying what
It’s gonna be fine
Work what you got

This gives rise to the self-love culture and reminds me of how owning one’s fabulousness is celebrated on fashion runways where phrases like, “Werk!”, “You betta work!”, and “Work it, baby!” are hurled toward the stage at the models while they step on the catwalk feeling and looking fierce.

I like to think of myself on the runway of life and that it is no different.

If nobody else cheers for me, then I am my own cheerleader because it’s the condition of my own mental status and self-esteem that determines how I view myself.

And that’s been my saving grace.

Now, depending on whatever needs to be improved about myself, I employ my uniqueness and inner strength to either work it out, work through it, work around it, or work with it.

And that works for me.

Because work is not always about work in the context of a job, an occupation, or a means to make money. Sometimes working on oneself is the most important work of all.

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