Your Worth is Not Measured By Your Productivity

by Petra Amrein, BSN, RN, Integrative Health Coach

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Your worth is not measured by your productivity. Ever.

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You are Worthy

If the most you could do today was move from the bed to the couch, you are worthy.⠀

If the most you could do today was remember to take your meds, you are worthy.⠀

If the most you could do today was love your baby from across the room, you are worthy.⠀

If the most you could do today was have a good cry, you are worthy.

You are worthy. Every single day.

It's OK to Slow Down

We live in a “GO! GO! GO!” society. People define success and happiness by their productivity. We are told busy is better, that having every minute of your day scheduled is a good thing. More classes. More work. More practice. More meetings. More commitments. More, more, more. Busy, busy, busy. 24/7. Non-stop.

Remind yourself that you are being productive. You are excelling. You are winning at life.

Living with IBD puts a wrench in society’s traditional idea of what makes a person worthy. And that, my friends, is a very good thing.

When you have a chronic illness like Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis, you are often forced to slow down. Sometimes way down. The pandemic is making you slow down. It can be extremely frustrating to be forced to slow down when you are used to going full throttle all the time. Who am I if I can’t go, go, go...do, do, do? There is a sense of loss of identity, loss of value, loss of what makes you fully engaged with the world. There is a tendency to feel that because you aren’t living up to what society has deemed the gold standard of constant business, you are less worthy.

Well, I have news for you. Your worth is not measured by your productivity. Period.

Your Health Doesn't Define You

When you are in a flare and are sick in bed for days and can’t go to school/ work/ care for your family; when you just had surgery and have to be in the hospital for a week; when you can’t go out for months because of the pandemic…. when the most you can do is simply get through the day….YOU ARE STILL WORTHY.

Your Worth Doesn't Rely on the Tasks You Do

You, the very essence of you, is a worthy, beautiful, complete being. The school work you aren’t doing, the housework you can’t get done, the work deadline you won’t make, the friends night out you have to miss…those things don’t make you worthy. Your worthiness is inherent. It’s ever-present, powerful, magical. It does not rely on the tasks you do, the number of things you get done in a day to justify its existence. It just…is.

Your Self-Care is More Important Than Society's Standards of Productivity

The price society pays for equating worthiness with productivity is steep. Who decided that constant business was better, that working all the time meant you were successful, that non-stop doing and going and rush, rush, rushing meant you were a better person? Why do we feel guilt and shame when we want to listen to our bodies who, in their infinite wisdom, are telling us to just STOP. Why do we feel such pressure to live up to a standard we did not set and do not agree with, a set of principles we did not choose?

If you are struggling with feelings of unworthiness because society has made you feel productivity equals worth, I would invite you to shift your perspective. I would encourage you to see yourself for who you truly are: a beautiful human worthy of the fullness and richness of life, not because of what you can do, but because of who you are. I would invite you to let go of the guilt of not moving, of not rushing, of not doing. Let go. And just...be.

Your worth is not measured by your productivity.

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You are complete. You are beautiful. You are loved.

About Petra Amrein, BSN, RN, Integrative Health Coach

I am both an IBD nurse and an Integrative Health Coach. My passion is helping my patients with IBD live life to the fullest; to know they are capable of doing great things, of setting goals and achieving those goals, of doing what they want in life, being exactly who they want to be. I know the challenges of IBD from a nurse perspective, but I also know them from a mom perspective. My daughter was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease when she was 14. Her diagnosis gave me new insight into what living with IBD was really like…the struggles, the challenges, the tears, and also the strength, the determination, the “guts’ to show up every single day, even in the middle of a flare. Just like my patients. I am humbled and inspired by this community daily.

I became an Integrative Health Coach to help people see that they can set goals and achieve those goals, even with a chronic condition. They can be more than their disease, more than a patient, more than a diagnosis. I take a holistic approach, knowing that mind, body, and spirit are all important and contribute to health and well-being. I help people recognize patterns and thoughts that are holding them back and together we create news patterns, new ways of thinking that allow them to find peace and happiness. We work together to explore visions of health and well-being, and together we create steps and action plans to realize those visions. For more information on Petra and her coaching services, please visit petraamrein.squarespace.com.

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This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding your condition.