I was asked recently to write an article about girls, women and self-worth for a women's magazine for which I'm currently serving as interim editor. The whole issue of body image, self-esteem and feelings of value and worth are something I've worked on for years—and I'm well aware that a majority of us have at least some doubts about our self-worth and body image.
We've talked about this before in these blogs. We are surrounded by media messages that tell us we're not good enough—that we have to be slender, tiny, blonde and beautiful to be of value. And guess what? Most of us don't weigh 100 pounds, wear a size 0 dress and have flawless and perfect skin.
Can we tune out those messages? Can we instead focus on the things we like about ourselves? Might we thank our bodies for all they've done and do for us rather than hate them for not being 100 pounds and size 0?
Two years ago a friend of mine had a birthday party at which we also honored ourselves as women. One of the things my friend had us do was to make a list of women we admired—and of the traits we admired in them. Then we culled from that the four attributes we most liked—and finally, we listed four attributes we most liked about ourselves. It was a good exercise. After looking at others we admire (that's always easier, isn't it?), it forced us to look at our own attributes—and celebrate them.
Why not try that today? Then celebrate your body, your abilities and yourself!
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