All women have had them. “Those” days. They’re not fun, nor are they healthy. When you sit around and do nothing but think negative thoughts about yourself, not only are you wasting your time, but you’re also creating a path to low self esteem. Women who think low of themselves are more likely to develop an eating disorder, end up in a bad relationship, use their bodies for male attention, and the list goes on and on.
I’ll admit that I’ve had those days as well and I assure you that they can only make a good day bad or a bad day worse. I cannot even count the number of times I’ve ended up in an argument with someone over nothing only because I was so down on myself that particular day. It was all based on self esteem. I didn’t love myself the way I should so I punished everyone else for it. One day, someone told me, “Your self esteem doesn’t suit you,” and that made me realize, I need to make a change. And I did. I began writing down the things I loved about myself and embracing my flaws. After all, flaws are what make you unique. It was hard at first, but I continued making progress and eventually, things became better than ever. However, I still have days where I don’t feel as great as I should, but I continue to tell myself how wonderful I am, I never take it out on other people and I know that it will pass.
It really saddens me that the media makes it seem as though you must be a certain body type to be accepted by society, and what’s worse is that the younger generation is being affected. I’ve had young female’s (I’m talking 8-12 years old) come up to me and ask, “Do I look fat in this?” or “I really need to lose weight.” It’s absolutely ridiculous. I understand that children need to be healthy, but is it really in a child’s nature to stress over their weight and what clothes they’re going to wear? Kids should be out having fun doing what they do, not counting calories and creating exercise schedules. These kids who are obsessing about their weight are our future. It’s absurd.
Anyway, the point that I’m trying to make is that us women need to learn to love ourselves from top to bottom, inside and out. Embrace your flaws, they’re what make you beautiful. We’re all beautiful. Teach your children that life is not about the latest fashions, or how skinny someone is, it’s about treating each other with respect, chasing your dreams, learning lessons, and creating yourself. If they stay focused on their own body image, they will miss out on a lot of wonderful things in life. You can bet on it.
Here are a few tips to help you get over your self esteem issues.
1. When you’re feeling low, write down all of the things you love about yourself. Can’t think of anything, ask someone else to write down the things they love about you. Read this list whenever you’re thinking negatively of yourself.
2. Embrace your flaws. Don’t like your short legs? Wear a skirt! Those legs are what make you unique. It might be hard at first, but eventually, you’ll learn to realize that nobody really looks at your legs like you look at them! Insecure about your feet? Wear sandals! You understand what I’m saying.
3. If you ever have a day where you feel like sitting in bed because you’re not satisfied with your life, GET UP! Get in the shower, get dressed in the outfit that flatters your body the most, and go out with some friends. It doesn’t matter if it’s to a coffee shop or the mall, just as long as you’re out getting your mind off of the negative. In the end, it will all be worth it.
4. If someone says something to you that hurts your feelings, or makes you insecure about something, blow it off. Why let someone else get to you? The only things that hurt you are the things that you allow. If you block it out and blow them off, it won’t hurt you. Don’t dwell on something that some rude person said to you. In fact, they probably said it because they’re insecure about themselves.
All in all, remember, you must love yourself and know that you’re beautiful before it will ever mean anything when the words are coming from someone else.
