The Story Of A Wise Man And His Ring Teaches Us A Great Lesson About “Self-Worth”

Have you ever had that feeling when all the world is against you and you see your self-esteem decline dramatically by the minute? You slowly drift away and become so lost that not even an ounce of confidence is left to push you further. Yes, all of us have had those times. But if we think about it, a chunk of those negative thoughts are brought about by what other people say and think about us, and the way we take them. You see, when we let other people dictate what is correct, appropriate, and beautiful, we cannot live our lives the way we want it because we are forced to pattern our goals based on their standards.

While it is important for us to listen and lend an ear for advice, we should still remember that at the end of the day, our belief in ourselves will be the major driving force for us to succeed in life. In the short parable below, a wise man wanted to teach a young lad the best way to identify self-worth. After reading this, you will surely have tons of self-confidence to start that thing you’ve been wanting to do! Don’t forget to thank us!

The Parable of a Ring’s True Worth

Once a young man came to a wise man and said,

“I’ve come to you because I feel so worthless that I don’t want to live anymore. Everyone around me says that I’m a failure and a fool. I’m begging you, please help me!”

The wise man glanced at him and hurriedly answered, “I’m sorry, but I’m very busy now and can’t possibly help you. I have an urgent matter to take care of…” he stopped for a moment, thinking, then added, “But if you agree to help me get this done, then I will gladly help you afterwards.”

“Of… of course,” murmured the young man, noting bitterly that yet again his concerns had been dismissed as unimportant.

“Great!” said the wise man and took off from his finger a small ring with a beautiful gem.

“Take a horse and go to the market. I have to sell this ring as soon as possible to pay off a debt. Try to get as much as you can for it and, no matter what, do not agree to anything less than a gold coin. Go now and come back as soon as you can!”

The young man took the ring and rode away. When he got to the market, he offered the ring to the merchants and they looked it over with interest. However, as soon as they heard that it will cost at least a gold coin, they lost all interest.

Some laughed right in his face, others simply turned away, and only one older merchant kindly explained that a gold coin is too high of a price for such a ring and the most he could get for it would be a silver coin or a bronze. When the young man heard that, he was distraught, remembering the wise man’s directions to not take any less than a gold coin. He went through the entire market and offered the ring to over a hundred people, but nothing changed.

He got on his horse and rode back to the wise man. “I wasn’t able to sell your ring,” he said with sadness. “No one was willing to pay me a gold coin for it. I could have gotten a silver coin, but that’s not what this ring is worth.”

“Now that’s a very important point, my son!” said the wise man. “Before trying to sell a ring, you should find out what it’s worth! And who can know that better than a jeweller? Go to the jeweller and ask him what he will offer us for the ring. But no matter what he says, don’t sell him the ring, just come back to me right away.”

The young man jumped on his horse and rode to the jeweller. The jeweller carefully and patiently examined the ring, weighed it on his scale, then turned to the young man. “Tell your master that right now I can’t give him more than 58 gold coins. But if he gives me some time, I’ll buy it for 70, to compensate for the wait.”

“70 gold coins!” the young man exclaimed. He laughed, thanked the jeweller and raced back to the wise man. The wise man listened to the account of what happened and looked the young man in the eyes. “Remember this, my son. You are like this ring – precious and unique! And only a real expert can appreciate your true worth. So why are you wasting your time going to random people to find out what it is?”

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