In case you missed last Tuesday’s post, click here for details on today’s link up.
If you’re like me, you don’t take compliments easily and graciously. I am not gracious when accepting compliments, especially from my husband and that is something that I am working on. I have a hard time believing what the person is saying is true. I question their motives and wonder if it’s sincere. Yes I know that I have a problem. It stems from being a teenager and being incessantly teased. I understand that now I’m an adult and I shouldn’t let it get to me or affect how I see myself, but I do. It’s something that I am working on very hard to change. I wish I could see myself the way my husband and son do.
After reading this article, “When your mother says she’s fat“, I’ve made a conscious effort to always thank my son when he compliments me and to never criticize how I look in front of him. To him, I’m his beautiful Mama and in his eyes, I have no flaws. He just sees me as his Mama.
So ladies, repeat after me:
I AM BEAUTIFUL!
I AM BEAUTIFUL!!
I AM BEAUTIFUL!!!
I AM BEAUTIFUL!!!!
I AM BEAUTIFUL!!!!!
I AM BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!
BECAUSE, GUESS WHAT???? YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!!!
Many of you wrote such sweet, supportive and kind comments. Many of you also wrote “if I’m brave enough!”. If you have children, and even if you don’t, you have to be brave enough to show the world that beauty is found in all shapes, sizes, colours, ages, wrinkles, grey hair, stretch marks, cellulite and all. Our so called “flaws” are what makes us individuals, unique. If we all looked the same, then this world would be a mighty dull place. One of the women in the video, Photoshopping real women into cover models says: “Once you take away your imperfections, there’s not much left of who you really are!!” So true.
So many women are getting plastic surgery to look like what society is telling us you should look like, instead of embracing our true self. This brings me to a discussion that Deepak Chopra and Oprah were having on her show Super Soul Sunday. He discussed that there is a fundamental difference between self-esteem and self-image. We forget ourselves and we start identifying with our self-image. Deepak describes our real self ”as being beneath no one, immune to criticism and is fearless.” What a powerful definition!!!! What empowering words!!!! He says that he teaches this to young children and he is amazed at the twinkle in their eyes, once they make that connection. I only wish someone would have told me this when I was growing up!!!!!
Deepak continues to say “that we shouldn’t confuse self with image. Self-image is what other people think of you. Self is what you think of you.” I, like many others, confuse the way I see myself with how other people see me. I think we all do this to some extent and the sad thing is that we then start believing in what other people are thinking of us. We start to focus on the negatives, instead of believing in ourselves and how we see ourselves; the positives!!!!!
What Deepak Chopra said resounded with me so much and it couldn’t have come at a better time. It is exactly what we need to be teaching our children and we need to start practicing it, so that our children will then do it as well. All we tend to focus on is the negative even though there are positives. For instances when you are getting feedback and they say a bunch of positive things and then they use the word “BUT“, you forget everything they said before it and you only focus on the negative. I love how Deepak describes our self as being “beneath no one, fearless and immune to criticism”. This is something that has hit a strong cord within me and it’s something that I want to start adopting. I no longer want to be held hostage to all the negative thoughts I have. It’s about time we all realized that our self is worth it, that we can do anything, and that we don’t need to listen to the negative chit chat!!!!
This leads me to the purpose of my link up. It’s to show the world how beautiful we really are and that we don’t need to be airbrushed and photoshopped to be beautiful. We are all beautiful just the way we are. We just need to see it and believe it.
So here is my picture without any makeup and my hair not done to motivate and to inspire you to join my link up.
I hope you join me in my “I AM BEAUTIFUL LINK UP”. It will run for 1 week until Tuesday March 11.
What an amazing turnout. I hope to see all of you back this week. And to thank you all I’ve featured 7 ladies. If you are interested in co-hosting please email me at vodkainfusedlemonade@gmail.com. If you’ve already co-hosted and would like to again, don’t hesitate to email me.
