You're Worth A Lot More Than You Think.
Before he died, a father said to his son; “Here is a watch that your grandfather gave me. It’s almost 200 years old. Before I give it to you, go to the jewelry store downtown. Tell them that I want to sell it, and see how much they offer you.”
The son went to the jewelry story, came back to his father, and said; “They offered $150 because it’s too old.”
The father said; “Go to the pawn shop.”
The son went to the pawn shop, came back to his father, and said; “The pawn shop offered $10 because it looks too worn out.”
The father asked his son to go to the museum and show them the watch.
He went to the museum, came back, and said to his father; “The curator offered $500,000 for this very rare piece to be included in their precious antique collections.”
The father said; “I wanted to let you know that the right place values you in the right way. Don’t find yourself in the wrong place and get angry if you are not valued. Those that know your value are those who appreciate you, don’t stay in a place where nobody sees your value.”
Know your worth! [1]
You Don’t Get What You Don’t Ask For
In 2018, Robert Half, a staffing and recruitment agency, published the results of a study of over 2,700 workers across 27 major U.S. cities. Here’s what they discovered: Over 61 percent of workers didn’t negotiate a higher salary during their previous job offer. [2]
However, over fifty-three percent of employers noted that they are willing to negotiate salary and expect a counteroffer. In fact, more than a quarter of employers make an initial offer that is $5,000 or more less than what they’re willing to pay the worker. In addition, over 63 percent of employers expect current employees to ask for a raise because they believe that the job market is becoming more competitive for talent, and yet over 51 percent of employees fail to ask for a raise. [3]
In the book, Women Don’t Ask: Negotiation and the Gender Divide, Researcher, Linda Babcock, presents studies which suggest that one of the main drivers behind the pervasive gender pay gap is that eight times as many men as women negotiate a higher salary.
Why do we struggle to ask for what we’re worth? A CareerBuilder survey of over 3,000 full-time employees reported that 51 percent of respondents said they feel uncomfortable asking for more money, 47 percent said they were afraid the employer will decide not to hire them and 36 percent said they don’t want to appear greedy .
It’s no surprise then that over 71 percent of workers in the survey accepted a job for a lower salary than they knew their skill set and experience was worth in the job market.
And what about the employees who asked for a higher salary? Over 84 percent of them got what they asked for.
Stop Complaining Or Walk Away
Growing up as children, we were taught to put our needs aside for the sake of others. As a result, when we grow into adulthood, we naturally struggle to speak up for ourselves and ask for what we really want.
But this leaves us feeling unhappy, exhausted and resentful because we’re undervalued, underpaid and underappreciated in our relationships, profession, business, and life in general.
Unfortunately, the vast majority of people spend their entire lives complaining about their circumstances, and die as undervalued individuals who never achieved their potential.
What we often fail to realize is that the world is opportunistic. If you undervalue yourself, others will take advantage of this, even at the expense of your well-being, happiness and potential. No amount of complaining will change this harsh reality of life.
So what do you do if you’re stuck in a situation where you feel undervalued? You have two choices: Either accept and embrace your current circumstances or walk away from the situation.
It’s really that simple.
There’s no reason to complain because you always have a choice. And if you choose to neither stop complaining nor walk away, you’ve chosen to spend the rest of your life complaining about the fact that you’re undervalued and underappreciated.
Ultimately, knowing your worth comes down to courage and faith. The courage to walk away from anyone who undervalues you, and the faith to believe that there will always be someone else around the corner who will recognize and appreciate your true value. In the story of the watch, it wasn’t until the son approached the museum that he was offered the true value of the watch.
Sure, you may choose to continue living within your comfort zone, after all you may potentially lose everything you’ve built up till now if you walk away. But what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? [4]
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