Even if the temperature changes aren’t very dramatic, spring is here as evidenced by newspapers and magazines overflowing with ideas for creating the perfectly organized home and the perfect bikini body. With spring also comes that seemingly innate urge to sit poolside or on a beach. Unfortunately, this means wearing more revealing clothing. And with that often comes the insecurities that seem to come prepackaged with the bathing suits.
To begin, what do you say to yourself, in your head and aloud? Are you your own harshest critic? Are you your own enabler? What kind of a friend are you to yourself? Women are almost always better friends to others than they are to themselves, so why not work on including yourself in your circle of friends and treating yourself as such? What would your best friend say to you? What would you say to your best friend? Now, say this to yourself and write it down to help you remember.
Sit in front of the mirror and focus on your face. What do you see that you know is beautiful on other women and just happens to also be on your own face? Look at your eyes. Look at your smile. Look at the texture of your hair, your cheekbones, your chin, and your nose. What do you see that is cute, pretty, or even beautiful? It’s there if you open your eyes and see yourself. Even imperfection is beautiful. Take Cindy Crawford’s mole for example.
Granted, some of these exercises may sound silly or they may make you squirm a little in your seat because you feel uncomfortable at the thought of doing it. Try them in private. Then write down what you discover. Remember, on a bad day, you might have to dig deep to really see your positive characteristics In preparation for just such a day, always write down your observations or commit them to memory in some way for future reference, for those days when you’re worn out from doing for everybody else and not being appreciated. Then, take your shiny, revamped self-image and change the world or just your little neck of the woods.