Stop saying you're sorry for being who you are!
As a young woman, you took your first reckless steps into the world, often doubting yourself. You felt invisible as you walked through lives, wondering if anyone actually noticed you. Sometimes you were impulsive and rebellious, you made other people's hair gray, you made a mess. Awkward. Which instilled a sense of shame and inferiority in your self-esteem. And none of that is sexy.
Brené Brown, author of The Gift of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You are Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are, writes eloquently about this "shame" that you have to shake off. Her antidote? Self acceptance!
That means you are worthy of love and belonging now, and not IF, and not WHEN. Right this minute.
AND this is the beauty: you believe in your worth and and you're trying to figure out how to love yourself. Not in spite of your "oddities", but BECAUSE of your "oddities".
Laugh out loud, realize the beauty of this joy. Dare to walk up to a cute guy and ask for his phone number...despite everything you've heard or read from dating "coaches". Admit that sometimes being a parent is very difficult. Dance just because you can and because you enjoy it. Who cares if you're good at it.
To be who you are, you have to be brave. Brown says it is "courage originally meant saying what you think, and at the same time revealing your heart". And where, if not in the heart, is true beauty?
It's time to step into that greatness. Because you are excellent and amazing, blue and beautiful! No, you're really beautiful! Look at yourself, recognize your beauty and accept it.
Mandy Hale, author of The Single Woman: Life, Love, and a Dash of Sass, says: “Maybe it's not Maybelline. Maybe you gave birth with it.”
