People have a price, an indisputable value called personal dignity, it is an unconditional dimension that reminds us every day that no one can and should not use us, that we are free, precious, responsible for ourselves and worthy of due respect.
Dignity is undoubtedly one of the most interesting and ignored concepts in the field of personal growth, for some reason many of us forget that this dimension does not depend on external recognition, no one has to give us a certain value to make us feel worthy. .
- “Work in such a way that you use humanity.
- Both in your own person and in anyone’s.
- Always at the same time as an end.
- And never simply as a means.
- -Immanuel Kant-.
Dignity is an inherent quality that comes from “the factory. ” As Martin Luther King said, it doesn’t matter what job you do, it doesn’t matter what color your skin is or how much money you have in your bank account. We are all worthy and we all have the ability to build a much better society based on recognition of ourselves and others.
However, dignity and vulnerability always go hand in hand. Because this innate quality depends directly on our emotional balance and self-esteem, in fact, sometimes it is enough that someone does not love us so that they do not feel worthy of being loved, it is also enough to spend a season without work to think that we are neither worthy nor useful to this society.
We need to understand from the beginning that we deserve the best, that we must be respected for who we are, have and are characterized. Defending our own identity, our freedom and our right to have our own voice, our opinion and certain values is non-narcissism. As we understand all this, our personality is strengthened and we achieve adequate inner satisfaction.
However, we must admit that if there is one aspect of our psychological well-being that leaves the most consequences after being neglected, forgotten or left in the hands of others it is dignity, so it is always necessary to remember something very simple and the same illustrative: hope is not the last thing a person should lose, in fact, what we must never lose is personal dignity.
Let’s see below how this inner reinforcement value and principle fades.
Dignity is not a key that we put in our pocket and that we occasionally leave to others, dignity is not material possession, it is a non-transferable, unconditional, clean and private value of all, it is not abandoned, not lost, or sold: IT is ALWAYS with you.
As we can see, it is not only a lack of self-confidence and self-love that causes the loss of this root of our well-being, sometimes there are those who become unworthy when they allow abuse, lack of consideration and extreme selfishness. .
Dignity is perhaps a much more approached by philosophy than psychology; Kant, for example, has conveniently defined the person with adequate personal dignity as a person with conscience, will and autonomy; however, in the more conventional definitions of this aspect, no attention is paid to a fundamental factor: dignity is also expressed when we are able to make those around us feel respected, worthy and valued.
“Every human being is a person. . – Evandro Agazzi-
So we face personal value, but also with a proactive attitude, no matter if it comes from ‘Factory’, as we said at the beginning, we must be able to provide and create environments where dignity prevails, whether in our families, in our professional environment and in society itself.
Now let’s see what pillars underpin this precious dimension.
The first aspect is to understand that we have ourselves, we are our own drivers, our personal gurus, our own rudder and our compass, nobody has to take us, or take us through oceans that are not ours, through scenarios that bring us misfortune. .
Last but not least, it is also essential to know how to take care of the dignity of others, we said before, because to be worthy is also to know how to recognize equals, regardless of your condition, your situation, your origin, your condition or your race, so let us learn to create more just societies, always starting with ourselves, with our own dignity.