{"id":385,"date":"2015-10-24T22:13:55","date_gmt":"2015-10-24T22:13:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.karen-gustafson.com\/?p=385"},"modified":"2015-10-24T22:14:38","modified_gmt":"2015-10-24T22:14:38","slug":"how-to-calculate-value","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.karen-gustafson.com\/?p=385","title":{"rendered":"How to calculate value"},"content":{"rendered":"

A week and a half ago, I was in a minor car accident<\/a> in our family van, Bertha. (Yes, like all good vans, she has a name.)\u00a0Since then, we have been waiting to hear from the insurance company as to their valuation. \u00a0We finally got word that they were going to treat the van as a total loss because the amount to fix it was greater than it’s worth.<\/p>\n

When we told the kids, they were outraged! \u00a0How could the insurance company come to such a conclusion?\u00a0\u00a0I explained the factors of age, and wear and tear of the vehicle in determining the status,\u00a0but the kids were not fully satisfied. \u00a0When they think of the van, they remember when we first got her and the excitement involved; it had a tv and headphones. \u00a0They remember all the miles traveled for family vacations, trips to the zoo, and exploring new neighborhoods. \u00a0They remember the long time spent sitting on the highway as we evacuated our home because of a hurricane. \u00a0They remember having to drug our dog to ride in the van as we moved across the country because she hated the car. \u00a0Some of them remember their fear as they drove her for the first time. \u00a0We have had her for eleven years now so she’s part of the family.\u00a0\u00a0And to them, she is worth whatever it takes to make her whole.<\/p>\n

So how do you measure worth?\u00a0<\/strong> <\/em><\/p>\n

For a van that’s been in an accident, you look to other comparable vans; vans of the same age and same equipment.\u00a0 For houses, you look at upgrades and the selling price of similar houses.\u00a0 The problem enters in when I try to do the same with people.\u00a0 I look to others who may be of the same age, social status, or gender and compare.\u00a0 Do\u00a0I measure up?\u00a0 Do\u00a0I have the same value?<\/p>\n

\"trap\"<\/a>As a writer, I can get caught in the comparison trap very easily.\u00a0\u00a0Do I get the same number of likes and comments?\u00a0 Do I have as many followers?\u00a0 Is my writing really as good as hers?<\/p>\n

I have to tell you, I lose every time I play that game.\u00a0 I can always find someone who writes better, gets more likes and comments, and has more followers.\u00a0 Following that logic, I will never have great value.\u00a0 So I think it’s time to use a different criteria.\u00a0 Instead of looking to others, I’ll look to God.<\/p>\n

He says I’m fearfully and wonderfully made.\u00a0 He says I’m His child.\u00a0 He says He takes great delight in me.\u00a0 He says I’m of great worth…<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

PS.\u00a0 We are going to take the settlement and fix Bertha.\u00a0 To do otherwise, would cause a mutiny.\u00a0 Besides, she’s a member of the family and we don’t give up on\u00a0family no matter how old and battered they become!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A week and a half ago, I was in a minor car accident in our family van, Bertha. (Yes, like all good vans, she has a name.)\u00a0Since then, we have been waiting to hear from the insurance company as to … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":388,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-385","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/www.karen-gustafson.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/trap.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.karen-gustafson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/385","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.karen-gustafson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.karen-gustafson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.karen-gustafson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.karen-gustafson.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=385"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/www.karen-gustafson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/385\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":390,"href":"http:\/\/www.karen-gustafson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/385\/revisions\/390"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.karen-gustafson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/388"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.karen-gustafson.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.karen-gustafson.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=385"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.karen-gustafson.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}