Believe in yourself

Understanding Self-worth

A society is made up of multiple individuals, but how do each of these individuals find themselves within society? How is it possible for an individual to find self-worth within a society? Self-worth is a sense that an individual has pertaining to their own values, in other words self-respect.  A knowledge of self-worth can be expressed through Art, an understanding of Culture, and an individual’s beliefs.

            Art is a beautiful thing; it is like eating chocolate cake with your eyes. It is something that has been used for centuries to express feelings, beliefs, thoughts, and even scientific discoveries. How exactly does art help individual find their self-worth? It can show an individual, as well as others in society, who they are through the various styles and feelings the work gives off. Every artist has a unique style that is their own, no two artists paint exactly the same, and hence the reason art can describe individuality.  For example, Pablo Picasso was first known for his melancholy paintings -- these paintings were done in various shades of blues, and contained an essence of sadness – he later switched to a style now known as Cubism. A style that began in the 20^th century, it was the first abstract form of art, where artists depict people, places, and objects, with abstract geometric forms.  When Picasso made this switch people rejected his work because they saw it as unusual. Another example is Salvador Dali, a surrealist painter; he, along with many other artists of his time, used his paintings to express how the unconscious mind works inevitably describing how individuals have unique qualities that can help them gain confidence, and a sense of self-worth.

 On the other hand, many other artists take a more realistic approach to things, such as Leonardo Da Vinci, and Vincent Van Gogh. Da Vinci’s work was both scientific and artistic.  He used to art to show muscles throughout various living things. He also painted The Mona Lisa, one famous of his works, which expresses the way he viewed the world around him – realistically. Like Da Vinci, Van Gogh painted most of his masterpieces in a realistic setting. In other words he painted things just as he saw them. He used neutral colors, and object that he saw in his everyday life. Some of his masterpieces were different from the rest, this expressed his own unique individuality –his self-worth. These different styles of art show different personalities, and different ways the artist sees things around them. Much like artist seeing the same things in a different perspective, individuals can live in the same world, the same society, and still see things differently. The knowledge of this can help an individual see how wonderful they are, even if they do not see things the way everyone around them does.

            In addition to these famous artists having different styles in their work every artist, young or old, good or bad, has their own style. It is this style to their art that expresses their emotions. The style of a piece also expresses how an artist views things around them, whether it be how the physically view something or how they view a certain belief. There is a generic saying that is used often that states, “A picture is worth a thousand words”. The more the saying is thought about the easier it is to realize how true it is. A picture, or piece of artwork, can express how an individual views themself and displays to others how they view themselves as well as how they view their surroundings.  Many artists have said that painting is a form of meditation and a way to escape from the world around them. Therefore, art can help an individual step outside of themself, and bring them a sense of self-worth. Plato’s Allegory of the Cave is a great example that shows that different people have different views of the same objects. In his writing Plato tells a story of men chained in a cave, all they get to look at are shadows on the wall of things passing by in the outside world. One day one of the prisoners is dragged out of the cave. At first he is not able to see because the sunlight is so bright; he screams and wants to return to the cave. Once his eyes adjust he realizes that it is wonderful outside the cave. He returns to the cave to tell his friends of his discovery and they just mock him. A great lesson can be learned from this allegory; every individual sees things with a different perspective. It is these different perspectives that create individuals; therefore there can be differences in the way an individual views their own self-worth.

            No two artists create the exact same master pieces. Each piece of work is a testament of the artist who created it. Moods within the work show how the artist felt while drawing, or painting the piece. Various ways of depicting objects such as flowers show differences in perception of view. Each piece of artwork that an artist creates illustrates their identity. All of these things show how the artist views their surroundings and more importantly how they view themselves—their self-worth.

Another factor that can help an individual figure out who they are, and discover their own self-worth is, is an understanding of culture. Culture is a part of society; which individuals are born into. An individual cannot simply choose to not take in the culture around them. In saying this, the culture they are born into defines who they are to an extent—there are many other factors that can play a key role in the development of an individual as well – it can also shape how an individual sees themself. Culture strongly affects how people behave. Inevitably the way a person behaves reflects how a person perceives themselves. People come from different cultures throughout the world; therefore, diversity plays a key role in the development of a person’s thoughts and beliefs. Culture throughout the world is vastly different; therefore, people are vastly different throughout the world. In one city it may be okay to do something where as if traveled to the opposite end of the country the same behavior may be considered a sin.  In saying this it can be easily concluded that a person’s identity can be shaped by the culture in which they live.

It is a sad truth that culture directly affects how an individual views their self-worth.  Three scholars conducted a series of studies to try to understand what kinds of things have an effect on an individual’s self-worth. In the first two studies individuals remembered either good things, or bad things pertaining to belongingness, and academic capability. While in the third study, women watched commercials that starred attractive female models. The authors stated, “We tested self-esteem as a moderator of the effect of threats to appearance on the extent to which women base their self-worth on appearance” (Buckingham, Weber, Sypher). The study showed individual women with higher self-worth had no problem while the individual women with lower self-worth put up extra barriers trying to protect themselves. Even if an individual does not want to admit it Culture plays a key role in how self-worth of individuals is viewed. The lessons that a culture teaches the individuals within builds a knowledge in their mind of how they think they should be. If the individual does not see themself fitting into society’s cultural beliefs their sense of self-worth is lower than an individual who fits in with society.

In addition to culture a person’s beliefs shape who they are, and who they are to become. It is not often that a person will act in a way that goes against what they believe.  If someone believes something they will stand for what they believe in all things, and at all times.  Is it then crazy to say that a person’s cultures and beliefs go hand in hand in shaping who they will grow to be? If a person is shy and does not interact with people they will remain shy their entire live. They will always be afraid of meeting new people. People who are shy are often just afraid of change. It cannot be seen directly but looking deeper it could be said. On the other hand if someone is super outgoing then they will learn and grow from their interactions between friends and acquaintances. Therefore they will grow from their interactions with people. The friends made throughout life help in the formation of the person an individual will eventually become. If an individual surrounds themself with friends who believe in same things as them, they will continue to belief those things throughout their entire life without much questioning. Yet, if an individual surrounds themself with others whose beliefs are different than that particular individual’s, they will begin to question their own beliefs. When an individual begins to question their own beliefs they are questioning their own identity and self-worth. Could it then be concluded that an individual’s beliefs can shape how an individual views themself? 

As Emerson stated, “To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart, is true for all men -- that is genius” (Emerson 260). This statement alone shows that to believe in your own believes creates the person that you become, as well as a sense of self-worth. Throughout his entire essay Self-Reliance he talks about not conforming to society. If an individual cannot separate themself from society then who are they? They are society. The individual needs to see a balance between self and society. It is impossible to completely separate a person from the society they are born in, however it is possible for an individual to figure things out for themself, to come up with their own beliefs towards things, to find their own self-worth. Again, if everyone just believed what others told them living life would be like living in the cave of Plato’s allegory.

A knowledge of self-worth can be obtained through Art, an understanding of Culture, and an individual’s beliefs. There is not one factor that affects how individuals view their self-worth, but many. In order for an individual to find their self-worth they need to dig deep into multiple aspects of their lives. Most of all they need not get discouraged if they do not see things in the same way others do, rather the individual needs to embrace their differences as a testament of their self-worth. A society would not be a society without the unique individuals within it.