Have you ever found yourself being looked over, not being recognized for your true potential? Well, sorry to say you have been undervalued. You may find yourself at a new job wanting to be noticed by your boss, and they reserve their positive remarks. You could be doing any and everything to please them with no chance of having them notice. But, what is it about being valued that deems it so important? In my opinion, feeling important is what wakes you up in the morning, puts clothes on your back, puts a smile on your face, and keeps your heart pumping. Now imagine if those feelings faded, being undervalued closes those doors to opportunity, to upward social mobility, to learning life lessons in general.

Well, if you look at it from a neutral standpoint, you’re thinking, “Maybe I’m going crazy, maybe everyone is getting treated the same.” But, then you open your eyes, start to question your abilities and your initial reason for belonging. You reject that essence of being undervalued in an attempt to see that value come to life and you shine like the brightest star. You count the days when your reality will only be a dream and you finally get that applause you’ve been waiting for. The clock runs around its numbers until it shifts to your departure. Tomorrow, you’re saying, “Tomorrow is a new day, maybe I will finally get noticed.” For now, you move away from the workplace in hopes that being undervalued only exists in one sector. Oh, but sure enough it exists in more than one facet of your life. Think about being in a relationship where all you do is wasted effort. You buy your significant other everything they could possibly want and never cease to disappoint. Maybe that’s the issue; providing them with any and everything is why you’re undervalued. Someone who is being treated like royalty will only subject themselves to look for trash. You step back and watch your partner value someone who doesn’t value them. But, to your they swear that the person they chose over you is more beneficial. That value you are blindly and helplessly searching for can only truly stand out when the one who undervalues you sees the importance of having you in their life.

Then you remove yourself from this relationship and go to that one place that being valued is unconditional and endless. You’re at home, walking around the house seeing your family provide you with countless reaffirmation; they love you and value you. Every familial activity you commit to is one of a kind. All of your best efforts are recognized and typically resist criticism. But, what if I told you that this was all a dream, that this love is only in your head? You remember that nobody, not even in your immediate sector doesn’t even value you. So, you have lost all hope and can’t find that one person or people who appreciate you the most. But, there is one person you have forgotten; you have forgotten yourself. If you think about it, accepting yourself is the first and last step you have to combat being undervalued. You know your true potential; all that you have amounted to is based upon your experiences and how you’ve learned from them. The value of being undervalued comes from within; giving your all to show others you are who you are without the confirmation. No matter in the workplace, a relationship, being at home, or in your own head, you are important. In my experience, a quote that really stuck out to me was from Homer, it said, “Extreme circumstances bring out the real you.” These extreme circumstances are the ones you fight both internally and externally throughout the day. You search high and low for these values; but, if they aren’t from where you expect them to come from, you have to confide in yourself. The value of being undervalued is a value in itself, especially when that value is self-reliant. Not every high five, congratulatory speech, pat on the back or smile on your face has to come from another individual.