How to Build Lasting Self-worth

Did you know that the average person is exposed to as many as 5,000 ads a day? I know what you must be thinking, because frankly, I tried to brush it off with the same thought. “Not me—I rarely ever pay attention to an ad. ”

However, research shows that these blink-and-you'll-miss-it messages seep into our subconscious and silently influence our beliefs and assumptions. Given that we spend 90% of our lives in unconscious thoughts and behaviors, it affects the way we think about ourselves and show up in the world.

Consider for a moment the explicit message in most of them: "Lose 20 pounds and you’ll wash all your worries away” or “Buy this now and your life will change forever” . Days on the beach, an enviable body, a stunning smile, the latest iPhone, the list is endless. What is troubling though is their implicit message.

Their constant barrage makes us believe that a life worth living lies in the possession of material goods and consumable experiences, and that unless we have them, we are deprived, wanting and worthless. Whether it is through the privileged pout of models, their euphoric ecstasy, or their look of complete nirvana, we are made to be miserably aware of the body, beauty, goods and experiences that we lack.

No wonder, then, that most of us are in the pursuit of material possessions, and oblivious of the deep inner desire for meaning and purpose. Academic philosopher Simon Blackburn says that this leads to a kind of vanity at best—the desire to win the approval and applause of oth