Self-Worth: Can Someone Work Themselves To Death When They Don't Feel Good Enough?

If someone drinks a lot or takes a lot drugs, they can soon be labelled as having a problem.  However, if on the other hand, someone has the tendency to work a lot, they can be seen as a model citizen.

It is then as though there is nothing wrong with working at lot, as it is something that is inherently positive. In reality, working too much can be just as destructive to someone’s wellbeing.

Hidden In Plain Sight

Therefore, unlike the other things that are often spoken about as being ‘bad’, this is something that is rarely spoken about it the same vein. Consequently, it can be far less likely for someone in this position to change their behaviour.

Firstly, other people are less likely to notice that something is wrong and, secondly, someone is likely to believe that they are living in the right way. The chance of them doing anything differently is then extremely low.

Always On the Go

When someone experiences life in this way, they are likely to be always doing something. Irrespective of what day it is or what time of the year it is, they may find that there is something that they need to be doing.

So, even if it is a time of the year when a lot of people are off work, it won’t be possible for them to stop working. And, even if they do take time off, their body could be tense and their mind could be somewhere else.

One Experience

Someone like this could work for a big corporation, meaning that they will have a fair amount of influence and control. Thanks to the speed at which change takes place in today’s age, they will no doubt have a lot to do.

It could be a challenge for them to get enough sleep most nights, with their not being enough hours in the day for them to get things done. Once their head does hit the pillow, they could start to think about all the things that they haven’t done.

Another Experience

Conversely, someone might not work in this kind of environment, but they could be very much into self-development. Therefore, their job might not take up all their time; what will take up most of their time is trying to improve themselves.

They could spend a lot of time going on different courses, along with taking different classes each week. This might be backed up by all the books that they read and the audio courses that they listen to.

Carving a Statue

Someone could believe that they are making themselves better by engaging in all these different activities. Each thing that they do is then going to enable them to become a better human being.

Yet, like the person above, they probably won’t be able to sit back and to smell the roses. There is always going to be something that they need to work on and develop, taking away their ability to live in the now and to appreciate what they have already achieved.

One Step Too Far

Regardless of whether someone works a lot or spends a lot of time trying to develop themselves, there could be moments in their life when they end up hitting rock bottom. Said another way, they will have simply burnt themselves out.

One moment they will be full of force, while at another moment they might not be able to force themselves out of bed. The willpower that they had will have deserted them, and this can also be a time when they will end up verbally abusing themselves.

A Vulnerable Position

Their inner critic could end up rearing its head, seeing this is the perfect time to lay into them. This part of them can tell them how incapable they are, treating them as though they have no value.
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If one is completely identified with this part of them, and is unable to see that it is simply an intruder, they are likely to feel even worse. What they may do is feel the need to get themselves back on their feet in order to get away from this voice.

The Main Motivator

This can show that the reason why they work so much or are always trying to develop themselves, is due to the fact that they don’t feel good enough. What they are doing is then being motivated by their need to feel as though they are enough.

The trouble is that as what is taking place within them hasn’t changed, it is not possible for them to take their foot of the gas and to slow down. They are then trying to fill the hole that is within them.

Going Back In Time

What is taking place within them could be the result of what has taken place in their adult years, or it could go back to what occurred during their early years. Perhaps this was a time in their life when they had at least one caregiver who was very critical, being only too happy to put them down.

These messages would have gradually been absorbed, forming their inner critic and defining how they came to see themselves. With this in mind, it shows that they don’t believe that they are not good enough because this is the truth; it is because of what they internalised at a young age.

Awareness

Ultimately, they are inherently good enough; what they do, or don’t do, doesn’t change this truth. For them to understand this at an emotional level, not simply at an intellectual level, they may need to heal the trauma that is within them.

This is something that can take place with the assistance of a therapist or a healer. 

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Oliver JR Cooper
http://www.oliverjrcooper.co.uk​