Have you ever come across a girl who couldn’t see her own beauty? Perhaps she’s felt pressure to look differently than she does: longing for a different body type, comparing herself to girls in fitness magazines and/or struggling to get over bad past experiences that altered her self-perception. Regardless of the reason why she feels that way, if you or a friend is lacking self-confidence, you must get better at loving yourself. I know—easier said than done, right?
#1 – There’s only one YOU!
Here’s what you need to keep reminding yourself: there is only one YOU! Only one girl who looks like you, one girl who acts just the way you do and one girl who has the personality and spirit that you have. Why would you want to be like anybody else?
#2 – Identifying The Real Issue
The next question you need to consider is: why aren’t you happy with yourself? Is it the physical appearance that bothers you, or is it really something deeper like that desire to be more outgoing? Whatever it is, you have a few options: you can try to work towards making some positive and realistic changes, you can learn to love yourself exactly how you are or you can do BOTH! (Hint: Choose BOTH!)
#3 – Take Charge of Your Self-Worth
So you want to lose weight and get a rocking bikini body. Then, work towards it if its what YOU want—NOT because it’s what you think people expect of you. Everything you do must be for you and only you. Begin to practice viewing yourself as you are and work on seeing all of the positives. If you only listen to what other people have to say or you don’t giving yourself credit for the beautiful person you are, then you will never get out of that negative, insecure place. You don’t deserve to be there, so make escaping that a goal. You deserve to feel beautiful and recognize your worth.
#4 – Make A Love List
Dig deep and identify all of the amazing things about yourself. Do you have pretty hair? Nice skin? A pretty smile? What do people compliment you on all of the time? Begin to really think about those things and write them down on a “love list.”
#5 – Step Out & Shine
Don’t live in fear. Do things that challenge your insecurities. When you do so, you’re taking control of your self-esteem and you’ll experience an infusion of confidence. For example, if you avoid certain types of clothing that you LOVE but are afraid to wear because of what others will think, get out of your comfort zone and put them on anyway! Change comes by making changes. It may be scary the first time you step out in that outfit, but guess what? You just took a huge step. You didn’t allow the opinion of others to hold you back from something that YOU want. That is self-love, ladies!
#6 – See & Believe
Do you avoid looking at yourself in the mirror? If you do, put yourself in front of a mirror in the smallest clothes you can find and really SEE yourself. You must face the things you avoid. Look at yourself and repeat out loud, “I am beautiful.” Keep doing this until you BELIEVE it. It may take several attempts, but that’s okay. This is a process and as long as you are trying, it doesn’t matter how fast or slow it goes.
It hurts me to see women who don’t realize the beautiful amazing individuals they are. EVERY single one of you deserves to feel amazing everyday. You should and you can, just make the decision to take the journey. You will be so glad you did in the end.
Until next week!
