It's been a while since I did a Be Beautiful post and I'm super excited about this one. Today I'm going to share some tips that personally helped me feel confident in who I am. Confidence is power and a women who is confident and loves herself can accomplish anything she puts her mind to.
As a young girl and teenager I always struggled with my confidence levels. At that time I thought it was because I wasn't pretty enough or because I didn't have enough friends or boys chasing me. I have come to realize it was truly because I never accepted myself for who I was. I was my worst critic and was always putting myself down. How can you ever feel confident when your inner voice is always pointing out your flaws. I hate that I ever felt this way and that to this day I still struggle with that stupid inner voice and lack of confidence. So here are my tips on how to combat all the negativity and rise up as a confident happy person.
1. Stay positive.
It's so much easier to feel good about yourself when you have a positive mindset. I know it sounds so simple but yet being positive can be so hard to achieve! Here is how I do it and I hope it can help you. When things are really getting you down and your feeling constant negative thoughts about yourself, STOP, breath and then mentally list of all the things you love about yourself. I've had days when getting ready for the day I just dwell on all the things I hate. My tummy is to big, my eyebrows are to bushy and on and on. When my thoughts head that direction I make a special effort to list all the things I love. I have also used this stay positive technique in other aspects of my life. When my kids are whining non stop and everything out of their mouths is negative, I stop them and make them start listing all of their favorite parts of the day. They always begin reluctantly but slowly they begin laughing and chatting about all the things that made them happy. The whole atmosphere in the home changes and we all feel better. So when you feel your negativity creeping in and hindering your self confidence stop it in its tracks and remind yourself of all that is wonderful about you.
2. Admit defeat.
So what do I mean by admitting defeat? I mean there are somethings about your looks or personality that will never change no matter how hard you try. Dwelling on these things will only make you unhappy and bring down your confidence. Here are a few things I have admitted defeat on; I will never ever have a nice flat stomach again (unless I want to shell out tons of money and get A LOT of surgery done), I have a scar on my eyebrow that is never going away, I'm not 19 anymore and I will never look 19 again, I'm very introverted, I have the worst short term memory and the list goes on and on but I'd rather not dwell on those things. Rather then letting these things get me down I simply admit them to myself and deal with them and move on. After bearing two beautiful children with my small body frame my stomach took a major beating. I wear my stretch marks under my cloths with pride and dress myself to mask and flatter the extra layer of skin and fat in my midsection. I lost 25lbs since having my last child and there isn't much I can do about my tummy area at this point. So I have admitted defeat and moved on. I hold my head high with confidence because there are somethings I just can't change and it's okay.
3. Stop comparing yourself to everyone!
I'll admit this one I still struggle with. With facebook, pintreset, instagram and all the other social media outlets that show women having the most fabulous and glamours lives its easy to start comparing yourself to them. You see their pictures always looking so beautiful while your sitting on the couch in you pj's eating skittles (ok maybe that is just me... but you get the point right?). Well guess what friends, you don't have to be fabulous everyday! Those women you are comparing yourself to are NOT REAL! They are a fantasy that you made up in your head. Everyone has struggles and weakness that you don't see. Yes there are many beautiful active women in the world but their lives aren't perfect and yours doesn't have to be either. If you want to look nice everyday and that makes you happy then by all means wake up early get yourself ready and live your day in confidence. BUT if you're like me and that kind of life style stresses you out then don't do it. Take a day for yourself when you decide not to do your hair or get dressed and live that day in confidence... you can always look good tomorrow. So I guess my point is, be yourself do what makes you happy and stop comparing yourself to the women that "has it all". You will never be confident with who you are when your constantly chasing what others are.
4. Follow the golden rule.
Treat others the way you want to be treated. How can someone be confident when they are unhappy with who they are as a person? Well they can't. They might have false self confidence but they will never have that aura of a truly happy confident person. When you engage yourself in kind works you are so filled with joy it spills out. After turning your focus outward to the people around you, you begin to careless about the caddie things in life.
5. When you look good you feel good.
Ok yes this is more superficial then all the others but you have to admit when you feel good about your appearance you walk a little taller. Now I'm not saying you have to be a super model everyday I'm just saying take care of yourself. Live a healthy lifestyle so you can be proud of your body even if it's not perfect. If you need a confidence boost for the day put on your favorite outfit, wear your favorite lipstick, or put on those heels that hurt your feet so bad but look so dang good. Loving the way you look can prepare you to show the world, you love who you are and you're not afraid to show it on the outside. Loving your appearance and taking pride in your appearance doesn't make you a bad person. Looking good so that you can feel better then other people is not the goal. This will only lead to self destruction. Embrace your beauty and enjoy who you are.
I hope these tips can help inspire you to live your life in confidence and love who you are!
Thank you for reading please feel free to share your thoughts on what makes you feel confident!
