We have grown up thinking our worth had to do with our grades, careers, our appearance, our circle of friends, the kind of house we live in.

And we have carried this belief system with us all through life -

Now its all about how large an Instagram following you have and the number of likes you get on a post, the clothes you wear, the places you go to and with women it’s about how their loo, their appearance.

If you don’t have “the look” o “live the lifestyle” you tend to feel like you’re not good enough. Every time you scroll on instagram you compare yourself to those picture perfect lives and you feel like if you’re not doing life right.

The truth is your worth is how you value yourself, how you think and feel about yourself — it comes from within.

Letting outside factors determine your worth will always have you feeling like you have to prove yourself, like you have to do something or be someone to prove yourself worthy. Keeping this up will cause you to lose sight of who you really are.

The way in which you measure your worth has an impact on your life so if you’re letting other people, places and things determine your worth, you’re setting yourself up for a great deal of disappointment. You should be measuring your worth by things that are in your control.

Knowing who you are — and being happy with that person because that will give you a sense of peace and contentment.

Your worth can never be found in people, places, things or even social media apps. Your worth comes from within you — your WAY of life and what you WORSHIP! “Allah (SAW) does not look at your appearance or wealth, but rather He looks at your hearts and actions.”

Here are 3 ways in which you can correct the lease through which you’re looking at your worth.

• Start with the right mindset — Wherever you are, there are different ways of life around you and you exposed and sometimes influenced by these ways of life. So before stepping out into the world to mingle with people, either work or school, your mindset should go from what will they think or say about me to what does Allah want from me? All the second guessing and the doubt will cease because Allah tells you exactly what He wants and that will always make you feel good and increase your self-esteem.

• Celebrate yourself — On a personal level, it would be helpful to analyze yourself. Write down all your worthy habits and characteristics. When you remind yourself of all your good characteristics, be proud of yourself and thank Allah for blessing you with it.

• Spend time with like-minded people — We are social creatures, we all want company and connection with others and we want to feel like we belong. It’s natural. But the challenge comes in when we spend time with people who aren’t right for us. If we have chosen to try and live a life where Allah is at the centre and If the people we spend time with don’t support that, don’t encourage that but instead laugh at it, mock it and make you feel bad for it then you should reconsider your “friends”.

The friends you choose to keep should be supportive and non judgmental and encourage to do more for you Akhira. They say you are a reflection of the five people you spend the most time with so take stock of who you are with and make some healthy changes if necessary. With the right company you will never compare yourself which, today a lot of women do and it messes with their confidence.

As muslims, it is important that we work on our worth when we run low, and that does happen, this Dunya does that to a person, so work on your it so that you don’t go through life with a negative perception of yourself and the life you are given.

Becoming aware of this is powerful because it can be the very first step to change. If you choose that for yourself. Right here, right now, choose to see your worth based on your own sense of self rather than how other people see you and think of you.

Instead of chasing things that make you feel good for a short amount time, choose to see and feel your worth by who you are at your core.

Remind yourself of this — The fact that you are here is by the will of Allah so obviously, you have been accepted and approved. And there is no better acceptance and approval than from your Creator.