Inherent Value
The gymnast stared down from his perch on a beam high up near the ceiling of the gymnasium. He wasn’t sure how he’d gotten up here, but at the moment, that didn’t matter because what was even stranger was that he could HEAR everything his fellow gymnasts were thinking down below him. The man watched, amazed, as they paced and practiced, each of their thoughts as audible to him as if he’d been standing next to them for an intimate conversation.
“I should be able to do this. Why can’t I do this?”
“I’m worthless. All the other guys are going to smoke me at the competition. I don’t even know why I bother. Everyone on this team is twice as good as me.”
“What is my dad going to think? I’m gonna be sick.”
Up in the raftors, his eyes widened in amazement. He’d practiced with these men countless times and never had it occurred to him that they were silently thinking such awful things about themselves. Then again, come to think of it, hadn’t he done the same thing? Hadn’t he bullied himself and thought the worst as he pushed his body past the limit on the same rings, the same balance beam, the same bar? This was the lesson his mentor intended him to learn. This was why he must have spirited him up to this perch, however he managed that. The first thing he’d do when he got down was to stop talking that way to himself. And maybe, to talk to his friends who seemed convinced of their own worthlessness as well.
This scene (described and adapted from the film “Peaceful Warrior”) is a perfect example of how many of us walk around believing that we don’t carry inherent value. For a myriad of reasons, we let the world and others around us convince us that we’re only as valuable as what we do, what we accomplish. Talk to anyone who’s had to cope with a debilitating illness, and they’ll tell you that one of the first things you have to battle isn’t the illness itself. It’s the idea that you aren’t important anymore because you’re bed ridden or in a wheelchair or unable to do the things you used to. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. There’s a saying that goes, “We aren’t human doings. We’re human beings.” We’re valuable because we are who we are. Our identity should never be based exclusively in activities, work, sports, or hobbies.
This is called inherent value. Each of us has it and nothing can take that away. It means we’re important even if a caretaker abused us. Even if we lost a limb in an accident. Even if we have a speech impediment. Even if we get fired from a job or tend to be sarcastic or struggle to make friends. Nothing can change the fact that we’re irreplaceable and priceless. Nothing. The way we talk to ourselves should reflect that.
Challenges/Points:
Inherent value is the idea that we are each extremely valuable and nothing external can change that.
It’s easy to begin to base your identity and value on external things, especially things that we feel good at or find the approval of others in.
We should never “speak” to ourselves in a way we wouldn’t openly speak to others.
Questions:
Does your self-talk reflect inherent value or value based on what you do (or how well you do it?)
What are the activities that too much of your identity might be wrapped up in?
Have you ever felt loved for no reason other than just being yourself?
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