How do you define your self-worth? Do you know how uniquely valuable you are to this world? If not, it is because you are letting the outside world tell you who you are ... tell you whether you are valuable or not. And THAT is a no-win situation. You have to define it for YOURSELF ... to YOURSELF ... AND to the outside world. When you do THAT, no one and nothing can diminish you.
Status symbols are just that ... symbols. They represent all the things our culture believes convey value. These symbols represent YOUR value as a person because if you achieve them or if you don't, it tells you a story about YOU. Our culture tells you that if you achieve all the THINGS ... the house, the car, the career, the 2.5 kids ... you have MADE IT. You are SUCCESSFUL. And that idea of success is completely tied to your self-image. You want to be successful ... and you want to be SEEN as successful ... because THAT will demonstrate your value. Isn't it crazy? Amidst the busyness of your life, I can bet, that in reality, you just want happiness, peace and belonging. Do you STRIVE for those things in your life though? No. Do you make those things priorities? No. Instead, you go along with everyone else to adopt the idea that the THINGS you accumulate from what you DO are more important than happiness, peace and belonging. And that these things and what you do will CREATE happiness, peace and belonging. It doesn't. And by investing in this belief, you have now enabled these things in the outside world to define your unique value, your self-worth. You've allowed all of the things around you to control the story in your subconscious about who you are and your worth to the world. And that's a no win situation because you are never in control of the outside world. You can only ever control yourself. And if your self-image is hand-cuffed to what you can't control, where does that leave you? You will feel powerless because what you believe about yourself is what you will create from your subconscious mind. It is important for YOU to define who you are in this world ... for you to believe in and own your inherent value in this world. Being self-directed in this way means that YOU are in control of the story AND you can create what you want from a position of power. Create a powerful self-image, believe it and be amazed at what you can create from that place!