Whether you’re a guy or a girl, young or old, light-skinned or dark, a close friend of mine or a complete stranger, I think you are beautiful inside and out. You have a unique set of strengths and weaknesses, which defines you as an individual. No one is perfect. Everyone has flaws, but your flaws do not make you less worthy.
Often, we don’t feel like our best selves and look out for validation in the form of likes or comments. At those times, it is extremely important to appreciate our uniqueness and stop fictionalizing a seemingly perfect human prototype (unless it’s Beyonce — in that case, go ahead). Obviously, this is easier said than done. We have to remind ourselves that it is okay to be insecure sometimes.
People are always going to judge you regardless of what you think about yourself. Stories are going to be told behind your back and instead of trying to change what those people think about you, you just have to let your actions do the talking. Build a self-image that you’re proud of. More importantly, be comfortable with yourself. Often times, we restrict ourselves because of other people’s judgments. Judgments hurt self-esteem and most of the time, they do not align with the way you see yourself. Be shamelessly proud and grateful for the way you are because the only important validation is YOURS.
Instagram is great, but it increases the need for other people’s validation. While it’s easy to say that we post stuff online for ourselves and not for other people, there are times when we subconsciously post something specifically aimed to prove something about ourselves. I get it, we have all been there. There are times when your latest post didn’t get the number of likes you were hoping for, but if you were happy with the post, that is all that should really matter. In fact, go ahead and like it yourself!