How do you qualify your self-worth?

In my early 30’s, after ending a long and painful relationship with someone who did not deserve a morsel of my time, I met a man who was vibrant, engaging, self-aware, ambitious, and funny and the moment he expressed interest in me I ran for the hills.

At the time, I told myself a story about how I wanted to be more established in my career before starting anything up with another person, but then I immediately entered a relationship with someone who didn’t deserve a morsel of my time—again.

In truth, I didn’t think I was worthy of Mr. Engaging. I was terrified that the moment he got to know me he would see my limitations and be disappointed. I couldn’t bare the thought of having to watch the face of someone really cool realize those things about me and it was easier to be in a relationship with someone who had less going on so I could feel better about myself.

I knew I wanted more for myself and it was right around that time I started exploring my Shadows. That process invited me to face the stories of limitation I had of myself and I learned to be curious about the standards and qualifiers that I use to determine my worth, which turned out to be very limited themselves.

What are the qualifiers that you use to determine your self-worth?

What potentially wonderful experiences have you run away from because you didn’t think you were worthy or deserving?