In the world of economics, everything has a price. Believe it or not, human life has a price tag. NPR did a segment on this topic in April of 2020. The transcript is linked HERE. It has more explanation than I’m willing to indulge. With the monetary amount stated, are we more than a price tag? Do we have value? Well, for starters, there is a difference between value and price. Value is how useful or appreciated someone or something is. If I am eating soup, a spoon has more value than a fork. But, value also encompasses how much we care about something. A friend who washes their car every Saturday values their vehicle.

On the other hand, price is a monetary amount. We cannot replace everything. So, we place a price as a substitute. This brings us to our topic. What are we worth?

Every human life has value. This is a hard pill to swallow because we are taught different roles in life bring different values. After all, we want our children to grow up and be doctors and bioengineers. We want them to achieve a status of financial security and happiness. Is that too much to ask? Not until we place the value of one human over another. I don’t envy the shoes of doctors who choose which lives to save. It’s challenging but necessary in that field. For the rest of us, everyone is equal. No one has more value than the next. The roles we choose may present a twist on our perception of value. A mechanic is more suited for repairing cars than a politician. But, that is placing value on a role, not the human. 

We judge others by the roles in life that they choose. If a person feels pride when they collect the community’s garbage, who are we to look down on them. But there are times that we overvalue people as well. Tabloids drop shell shockers on movie stars that fall from the graces of our expectations. World leaders are easy prey for the media. In the end, these are humans filling roles that have different values in our society. We have yet to answer “What are we worth?”

We appreciate the people we value. We don’t belittle nor go off on a tyrannical tangent to the ones we treasure. We should never excuse the lack of appreciation. If our peers can’t appreciate what we do, then we need to reassess our relationship. We should feel valued by our peers, friends, loved ones, and bosses. They should not take us for granted. And while we’re hitting the caveats of being valued, respecting boundaries, valuing our advice, being professionally honest, and genuinely listening to us are signs of being loved and appreciated. These are minor qualities that we must give and receive. That’s right. We must ensure that we aren’t taking others for granted. It’s easy to do but despised when done to us. 

Our feelings and thoughts are worth noticing. We are worth the appreciation, professional honesty, and having our boundaries respected. Not everyone will find the same value in us. This is why it is essential to surround ourselves with friends and family that appreciate us. 

You are worth being appreciated.

You are worth being loved.

Never make excuses for substandard treatment or abuse. We have feelings and emotions, and there is no such thing as a healthy amount of abuse. “If only we had done this, then they wouldn’t have done that.” We are not responsible for the actions of others. This is why we should never make excuses for their actions. 

I’d like to interject by stating that value is a two-way street. If we fail to respect or tolerate others, then we cannot expect respect in return. Pushing emotional buttons is not healthy. Creating a problem then swooping in to save our victim is a form of abuse. It’s known as Hero Syndrome.

We are unique individuals bringing our views, insights, and perspective to this world. Finding like-minded friends promotes our growth. We may need to outsource the internet to find such a community, but it is worth it. Those that bring positive words and complement our ideas are essential to our mental health. No one is worthless. 

Until the next blog, live life, be happy, and click the like.