One thing we’ve all experienced is feeling under appreciated. It applies in a social context such as work, family, and friends. When we feel under appreciated, it feels like the work and time we put into something is brushed off, ignored, or if it goes unnoticed. And if we take it personally (which is hard not to take it as), it’s as if our value as a person is diminished.
Why are we even helping or trying? we might ask. It’s the reason we separate work from our personal lives. It’s why we choose friends that appreciate us instead of the ones that don’t. It’s why we organize the lives the way we do, keep the company we do.
This feeling of “under appreciated” makes us acutely aware that our value doesn’t come from the people around us, because they may or may not appreciate us from day to day, or month to month. Instead, it comes from us pursuing what is a value to us–since it is why we pursued it in the first place. Whether that is writing a book, creating a painting, composing music, or building a bird house, intrinsic value cannot be taken away from us.
Fallton Havenstonne 