How many times have you stared at your reflection in the mirror and feel your self-esteem drop? If the answer is “way too many,” then it’s time to change the way you think about yourself. Accepting who you are may seem hard at first, but once you realize how truly special one is, it’s easier to maintain a more positive view of yourself. Keep in mind everyone is different in their own way and that’s what makes you special and unique. With time, it is possible to learn to accept, appreciate, and love who you are overall.
The way you see yourself is important to both your mental and physical health. It doesn’t matter if you only dislike your hair or a part of your personality; the fact you’re not appreciating who you are can cause damage to the mind and body. As a person who hasn’t completely learned to love who she is, I understand the struggle that is trying to keep a positive view of who we are. I’ve made myself feel horrible by comparing myself to every pretty girl I see and believing I’ll never look “as good” as them. The truth is, comparing yourself to others (or wishing you were someone else) isn’t the way to go. It is not a competition nor will it ever be; and that’s something we should always keep in mind.
Accepting yourself goes beyond liking your looks; it also includes your personality. The way you look is not the only thing that matters about you, in fact it is probably what matters the least. Who you are, what you have to share with others, the way people feel when they are around you, those are the things that matter and that define you as a person. Yet, in order to reflect those you have to start by learning to feel comfortable in your own skin, to embrace the woman at the other side of the mirror. We live in a world with a very defined standard of what “beauty” should be, and that affects directly the way we see ourselves, and how we are constantly comparing to others. So, it may be possible that what we need is a change of heart, rather than a makeover.
Ever since I was a kid I’ve struggled with low self-esteem. For a long time, specially during my teenage years, I thought of myself as someone who wasn’t good enough for anyone to like. Later in life, I realized that, if I do not love myself first, if I don’t accept who I am, then nobody will. This is something I have been working on every day ever since, with the right mind set, and my heart focused on what is really important. Realizing how different I am from others isn’t something to be ashamed of; own who you are and rock it, and if no one bothers to like the real you, it’s their loss anyway.
Loving who you are is not an easy job; it isn’t something that happens from one day to the next. You have to embrace who you are and work your way up to be comfortable enough with both yourself and those around you. Remember that there are loads of characteristics one possesses that make us unique. It doesn’t matter if you dislike too many or too little of them; it is time for you to see beyond those “imperfections” and finally accept the person you truly are. It’s a matter of time and self-acceptance. Always keep in mind beauty is a concept everyone interprets differently, but that doesn’t mean there’s people who are not beautiful. We all have beauty inside and outside, it’s different but it’s always there. So, next time you take a look in the mirror, remember to embrace the woman on the other side, because she is truly special in every sense of the word.