You’re beautiful my friend. Why? Because you’re you. It’s really that simple. We don’t always feel that way though, do we?

Answer: No, no we do not.

We all have days where we don’t feel our best, days where we feel out of sorts and out of place. It’s usually on those days that I’ll find myself being pretty harsh verbally with myself. I used to be a pro at picking myself apart and leaving myself feeling like total garbage. Within the last year though, I stopped and started doing something else instead. That something else resulted in a lot less nitpicking, and more acceptance, encouragement and even celebration from me to me.

Here are some things you can do everyday to feel like the beauty you are!

Smile at Yourself

Okay, I know this one sounds weird, but what if I told you it was backed by science. When you smile, the contractions of your muscles tell your brain that you’re happy. When your brain gets those happy signals it releases chemicals that make you feel happy. Did you know that smiling not only makes you feel better, but it can help you to look better too!

A smile is the best makeup any girl can wear.

Marilyn Monroe

Find Your Strengths, Write Them Down

We can spend a lot of time criticizing ourselves which results in us feeling worn down and well, not our best. The solution; spend intentional time doing the opposite. Grab a journal or open the notes on your phone and start a list. Come up with five things you love about yourself physically and write them down. This could be your hair, your teeth, your strong legs anything. Once you’ve written that list make another one. With this list, come up with 5 non-physical things you love about yourself. Maybe you love your singing voice or the way you cook. Maybe you love your caring heart for people or your ability to focus on the positive in crazy situations, whatever it is write it down. Once written down take one more step and write them all somewhere you can see them every day. Maybe place sticky notes around your mirror or bedside. Maybe set them as the label of your alarm on your phone or make them your lock screen. You want to be able to see them every day so you can remind yourself every day. The more time we spend speaking and thinking positively about ourselves the more positive we will feel about ourselves.

Take Care of Yourself

It’s just a part of the human condition that we are more considerate and protective of the things we take care of and invest in. I mean just look at the way we protect expensive shoes and even cars…why? Because we understand the investment we put into attaining those things and understand that they are not easily replaced. When we invest time and energy into taking care of ourselves: eating right, working out, taking care of our skin and maintaining our mental wellness we psychologically communicate to our body and minds that we are important and should be protected. Your body, believe it or not, will respond accordingly and subconsciously you’ll start feeling a whole lot better about yourself.

Encourage Yourself

Nothing brings me more joy than to see women supporting women. I love the way we hype each other up on social media or when a friend wears a cute outfit. We are ready to make sure they feel good about themselves, and as a result, they feel beautiful don’t they? Why don’t we do that for ourselves. When you accomplish a goal, celebrate yourself! When you overcome an obstacle, take a moment to tell yourself you did a good job. In reality, it’s kind of about becoming your best friend for yourself. Skin looks good today? Who cares if you’re a little bloated, celebrate that skin! Starting to see some muscle definition in your shoulders tell yourself. Get into the habit of communicating positivity and encouragement to yourself. It does wonders!

Be Real With Yourself

Okay, so maybe you’ve got all of the above steps down to a T but there are still things you’ve got going on that really get in the way of you feeling beautiful. Maybe you’ve struggled with aggressive acne and although you KNOW you’re beautiful regardless, it still takes a toll on your confidence. Maybe even though you’re eating right and working out you really can’t lose the extra weight and it really bothers you. There are legitimate physical barriers that can get in the way of you FEELING beautiful. Theres nothing wrong with wanting a change as long as the change you’re seeking isn’t for validation of the beauty you’ve already got. A flat tummy won’t make you feel beautiful if you’re normally over critical of yourself…you’ll just find something else to hate. But, there could be medical reasons why the steps you’re currently taking aren’t working. I, for example struggle with thyroid issues, so the whole eat right flat tummy thing ain’t gonna work for me on it’s own, and I’m cool with that, it was just good to know. Others react specifically to diary or gluten as far as skin conditions go. If that’s a real struggle for you, theres nothing wrong with seeking out professional guidance to figure out what works for you!

At the end of the day, you’re the only you you’ve got! You’re unique and you are loved. You’re strong and you have value, so here’s a little kick in the butt to start treating yourself that way!

‘Till next time!

Nicole Eva

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