As I reflect on my most recent post about the dire need for so many of us to boost our self esteem and to also become more secure with our body images I couldn’t help, but think of The Dove Campaign for Real Beauty, which has evolved into The Dove Movement for Self Esteem. Both of these links have excellent resources and tools for building self-confidence and they also reinforce the fact that true beauty comes from within. One particular exercise I thought was pretty sweet is this worksheet:

Here’s my answer: “You are beautiful because you: are sensitive and thoughtful.” Now you try!

Another effort of these campaigns by Dove, which I found relevant to the post I did yesterday about mirror techniques is this advertisement that Dove put out last spring (a few of you actually sent out the link to this ad to me when it came out and I really appreciated it)! In this commercial viewers see just how warped and misguided people’s perceptions of their physical selves are and how, unfortunately, it is up to strangers to most accurately describe their appearances. The ad highlights how strangers can see another person’s inner beauty even when they can not see their own. It is thus imperative that we all work on seeing ourselves in the best possible light because being your own harshest critic really takes a toll on you and inevitably affects many different facets of your life.

We mustn’t let the negative feelings we have towards ourselves stop us and hold us back. We need to fight against the bad feelings and hone in on our positive and most redeeming qualities that arise from within. Our worth should not be based on our physical appearance and around what others claim is beautiful. Only you can be the judge of your true beauty and once you really see that then there is no stopping you!

Remember all:

No matter what anyone else says believe this because you are 🙂