What is your worth?

This is a notion that has intrigued me for the last 15 years. A person's worth equal to the sum of the value other people place in him. Therefore, in order to increase his own worth, a person should strive to be of greater value to the rest of the world.

In Hindu religion, there is a concept of Shree (also spelt as Sree), which describes various forms of prosperity - wealth, respect, beauty and grace. In other words, a person's worth.

The unique thing about this definition is that all these attributes are relative attributes that can only be described in terms of other people's perception.

Now, given that a person's worth is relative (to what other people think he is worth), then the only way for a person to increase his worth is to strive to be of greater value to the rest of the world. The "rest of the world" is an abstract concept, and usually will include people that are not directly connected to the person in question. I cannot increase my worth through sheer will power. I cannot direct other people to think highly of me, as much as I can hold my breath and ask for money to be wired into my back account. It's not going to happen anytime soon.

So what is my bank balance worth? Only as much as you are willing to value it at. If I have a billion dollars in my account, and you think nothing of the money (as an observer), then my worth is nothing in your eyes. Depending on the context, therefore, even hard cash may be worth nothing. There is no absolute value of a person's worth.