5 Signs You’re Putting Your Worth in Your Work
Your work is important. It is a part of how you express your human dignity.
But it’s not the fundamental source of your human dignity, Your dignity comes from the fact that you were created in the image and likeness of God. There are many takeaways from this simple truth.
Here are a couple of them:
1. “The divine image is present in you.” (That’s the Catechism, #1702.)
2. “From the moment of your conception, you were destined for eternal beatitude” (happiness) (#1703).
Your life and all of Creation is a gift to give back. “God created everything for man, but man in turn was created to serve and love God and to offer all creation back to him” (# 358).
What does all this mean?
In his 1991 encyclical Centesimus Annus, Pope St. John Paul II wrote that “Work thus belongs to the vocation of every person; indeed, man expresses and fulfills himself by working."
But how often do you measure how you “offer Creation back to God” by worldly standards? How often do you forget that your work is how you express your dignity and a way to follow God more closely, not a way to prove your worthiness to yourself or the world around you?
Here are 5 ways to tell if you are placing your worth in your work.
1. You believe that everything rests on your shoulders.
You might feel guilty or anxious when you take time off of work. You might check your work email incessantly outside of work hours. You might even abandon the idea of normal working hours altogether.
Responsibilities can be heavy. But it isn’t all up to you. Find comfort in remembering that God didn’t create you to do everything on your own. He created you to radically rely on Him to provide.
Take a note from Pope St. John XXIII, who is said to have prayed: “Well, Lord, it’s your Church. You take care of it. I’m going to bed.”
2. You’re addicted to stress.
Addicted to stress? That seems like a silly notion. You loathe stress and how it makes you function, why would you be addicted to it?
But if you find it extremely difficult to relax fully, it’s a sign that you might be unwittingly “addicted," in a sense, to high levels of stress. Remember that, while you imitate God and express your human dignity through your work, you also do so through your rest.
While stress can be a good thing in small doses, it’s better to be steadily motivated by a desire to accomplish what God has called you to, always intentionally striving for peace throughout.
3. You’re constantly comparing yourself.
Asking for help can often seem like a last resort. What if someone questions your capabilities? What if they don’t think you measure up?
“Comparison is the thief of all joy” because it allows you to measure yourself against hyper-tangible qualities that can’t define your essence as a whole person.
Whether you have as many skills, connections, or quantifiable successes on your Linkedin profile as others, you are just as entitled to offer Creation back to God as the next person.
Overvaluing hyper-tangible indicators disrespects your human dignity and undermines your belief in your potential.
4. You catch yourself seeking validation from outsiders all the time.
Receiving acknowledgment for a job well done is good. A lot of the time it is the fuel you need to press on.
Desiring recognition can become dangerous if you sense that you value others’ opinions of yourself more than you value the voice of God that says, “This is my beloved son, with whom I am well-pleased.”
When you recognize that your worth comes from God, you care about God’s will most, and the recognition of others is superfluous. You derive peace from the knowledge you are doing the will of your Heavenly Father, regardless of whether other people notice.
5. Failure or setbacks at work deeply affect your self-confidence and self-image.
It isn’t easy to admit. But, how often does your mood directly correlate to how you perform in your work that day?
If you subconsciously believe that you have to prove your worth at work, projects that fail or mistakes that you make feel harder to bear.
Reflect on the poor widow in the Gospel of Mark. Even when all she has isn’t “enough,” she still gives with love. You will sometimes experience your own deficiency or “poverty.” But remember what Christ says about this widow: “This poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury…she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood” (Mark 12:43-44).
In the context of Heaven, your mistakes at work shouldn’t carry nearly as much weight (if any) as how you handle them. Work offers you opportunities to practice holiness.
Holiness starts with knowing your worth. You are created in the image and likeness of God with a mission in the context of eternity.
Wrapping it Up
The dignity of the human person is a central principle in Catholic Social Teaching. When thinking about how to apply this principle to your business, it’s important to start with what you have the most control over: yourself.
If you’re constantly battling stress, comparison, or the belief that it’s all on you, it’s time to take a note from the Catechism and Pope St. John XIII.
Consider praying the following or a personalized version every morning before the work day:
“Today, as I offer Creation back to You with my work, I recognize that I can only do this with Your grace I give You ownership. It’s Your work ultimately, Lord. Guide the work of my hands today and every day. Amen.”
The next step? Start to take action.
If you believe that everything rests on your shoulders, practice delegating, especially when it’s hard.
If you’re addicted to stress, start implementing as many practices as possible every day to lower your stress levels (Morning sunlight, journaling, exercise, breathing exercises, strictly-enforced sleep schedule, etc).
If you’re constantly comparing yourself, putting too much value in outside validation, or being overly affected by your own failures, pray more intentionally about what God is calling you to in your own life. Dig into what the Scriptures and the Catechism say about the human person.
How will you intentionally renounce the lie that your need to earn your worth today?
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