If you’ve found yourself doubting your worth since the pandemic, you are far from being alone. 2020 has been a rude awakening to many who once believed self-worth was tied to the jobs they have, or in many cases, once had. There is very little you could have done to prevent what happened, but now that it has, what can you do?

First, stop exposing yourself to excessive media. This may seem obvious, but it isn’t. Our brains are not designed to make us happy – they are designed to help us survive. Mainstream media outlets know this. In order to survive and pass on genes, our ancestors had to be wired to spot danger and live in fear of the predator in the shadows. Fear heightens our awareness to danger, and in times of physical threat, that’s what we want. But thanks to mirror neurons, seeing things designed to make us afraid on tv has the same effect in heightening our fear, driving us to feel our survival is under threat. Don’t allow for this.

Second, remember your value is tied to the value you provide to your friends and family, not your income. The pandemic has rendered many jobless, and in some cases for months at a time. Although this is a very real stressor and may have real-world consequences to your material worth, it cannot rob you of your true worth – what you believe about yourself – which rarely equates to the value of your monetary portfolio. And if it does, wouldn’t you rather it be tipped in your favour? It is useless to say this is an easy rule to follow. To do so would be a great disservice. But what can be said is that your mind is the source of all your problems and solutions. So what will you choose?

“Through some strange and powerful principle of “mental chemistry” which he/she has never divulged, Nature wraps up in the impulse of strong desire “that something” which recognizes no such word as impossible, and accepts no such reality as failure.” Napoleon Hill

Third, remember who you are, and what you are capable of achieving through consistent effort. The world we knew may have changed, but it has not ended. An individual’s ability can’t be robbed from them unless they allow it. A job, a marriage, a career, a loved one – these can all be lost by no fault of one’s own. However, a loss of self is one’s own fault. Victimhood from external factors is a temporary setback we must all face many times in our lives, but victimhood is a choice – and it is always a destructive one.

Whatever your year has been, know that it is temporary! You are the only constant that must live on. So make the choice to take control and forge your future in the fires of defeat.