An award-winning medical doctor, researcher, and lecturer on human motivation, Dr. Shimi Kang offers the keys people of all ages need to succeed in the workplace, the classroom, and at home. With over fifteen years of clinical experience and extensive research in the science that lies behind motivation and wellness, Dr. Kang shows people how to cultivate skills needed to flourish both professionally and personally.
She recently shared this helpful read on self-worth and the pursuit of material success on her Instagram page:
How to stop tying your self-worth to financial and material success, and feel better for it.
Oh 2017, how quickly you’ve flown by. It’s also about that time of year when people start to sit back and evaluate how it’s all going – some, with a creeping sense of panic.
How have they progressed in all the goals they set out? Are they fitter, happier, and have all their “stuff” together as they’d imagined? How far along are they in their careers and relationships? Are they financially where they hoped to be?
According to a University of Buffalo study published earlier this year, people who tie their self-worth to the pursuit of financial and material success become vulnerable to negative psychological thinking.
As a result, they’re more likely to:
1. Compare themselves to others.
2. Lose their sense of autonomy and control over their lives.
3. Experience financial stress and anxiety when it comes to earning, saving and spending their money.
4. Become disengaged when it comes to facing financial hurdles.
5. Have a negative, self-depreciating outlook regarding how they’re feeling about life and overall finances. . As you can imagine, this is not exactly a winning combination when it comes to self-esteem and motivation! Luckily, it seems the remedy is simple: Set time aside every day for reflective self-affirmation.
The study found that those who regularly recount their personal strengths and other self-affirming thoughts, are able to eliminate the negativity and stress that comes with placing their self-worth on financial and other external accomplishments.
Feeling unmotivated or a little discouraged lately? It may be time to reevaluate your priorities, and acknowledge the things that really matter and bring intrinsic happiness to your life.