The Most Important Decision to Make In Life
But first a story
From time to time, I read something I immediately want to share.
Last week, I came across a story that did just that. Once I read it I couldn’t stop thinking about it so I knew it was time to write.
The story goes like this:
One day, a boy approached his father and asked, “What is my life worth?”
The father handed his son a small stone and replied, “Take this stone to the market. If anyone asks the price, raise two fingers and don’t say anything.”
The boy did as he was told and went to the market. An old woman approached him and asked, “How much is that rock? I want it for my garden.”
The boy held up two fingers, to which the woman replied, “$2? I’ll take it.”
Before she could complete the deal, the boy turned and ran home to tell his father what had happened.
His father nodded and said, “Ok, now take the stone to the museum. If anyone asks the price, raise two fingers and don’t say anything.”
The boy did as he was told and went to the museum. A man in a suit approached him and asked, “How much is that stone? I want it for my home.”
The boy held up two fingers, to which the man replied, “$200? I’ll take it.”
Before he could complete the deal, the boy turned and ran home to tell his father what had happened.
His father nodded and said, “Ok, now take the stone to the precious gem store. If the owner asks the price, raise two fingers and don’t say anything.”
The boy did as he was told and went to the store. The owner approached him and asked, “Where did you find that rare stone? I have been looking for it my entire life. How much will you sell it for?”
The boy held up two fingers, to which the man replied, “$20,000? I’ll take it.”
The lesson of the story is a powerful one:
We choose our own worth. We determine our value.
Worth is not fixed – it’s dynamic, environment-dependent and often changes from person to person and place to place.
We can choose to place ourselves in an environment where we’re undervalued, surrounded by people who don’t think much of us, who keep us small, laugh at our ambitions, and criticise our every move.
Or…
We can choose to place ourselves in an environment where we’re highly valued, surrounded by people who lift us up, encourage us to think bigger, have our best interests at heart, and believe in us even when we don’t believe in ourselves.
There comes a time when we must decide our own self-worth and it’s (arguably) the most important decision in life.
We can choose whether we are a $20,000 rare stone or a $2 rock.
It took me way to long to realise this but once I did my life radically changed.