Even a Broken Boat Still Has Three Catties of Nails

While preparing for one of my TikTok Live sessions, I found myself searching for a meaningful topic. Then an old Cantonese proverb surfaced in my mind:

「爛船都有三斤釘」
"Even a broken boat still has three catties of nails."

The words made me pause.

Growing up, I heard this saying many times. Back then, I understood it as a reminder not to underestimate someone who had fallen on hard times. Even a broken boat still contains nails that are worth something. A person who has lost wealth, status, or influence still possesses experience, wisdom, relationships, and dignity.

As I sat with the proverb through my inner dialogue, it revealed something much deeper.

How often do we become the very person who underestimates ourselves?

One disappointment.
One failure.
One relationship that didn't work.
One business that struggled.
One mistake that keeps replaying in our minds.

Slowly, we begin to label ourselves as "broken."

But are we?

The boat may have weathered storms. It may carry scars from years at sea. Yet its value is not erased simply because it no longer looks new.

Neither is ours.

This proverb reminds me that our worth has never been dependent on our circumstances. Life can take away money, titles, positions, recognition, or even people we love. Yet it cannot take away the lessons we have learned, the resilience we have built, the compassion we have cultivated, and the wisdom earned through every season of life.

Sometimes we become so focused on what we have lost that we forget to see what still remains.

That is where inner dialogue becomes powerful.

Instead of asking,
"Why did this happen to me?"

Perhaps we can ask,
"What still remains within me?"

What strengths have survived every storm?

What values can never be taken away?

What experiences can now become a gift to someone else?

The answers may surprise you.

As an Inner Dialogue Coach, I often remind people that awakening your worth is not about creating value that never existed. It is about recognising the value that has always been there, even when life convinces you otherwise.

Perhaps today you feel like that broken boat.

If so, remember this old Cantonese wisdom.

Even a broken boat still has three catties of nails.

You still have something to offer.
You still have wisdom to share.
You still have love to give.
You still have a purpose waiting to be lived.

Your worth did not disappear because life became difficult.

It has been there all along.

Reflection

Today, ask yourself:

What am I overlooking in myself simply because I have been focusing on what I have lost?

The answer may be the beginning of coming home to yourself.

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