How I Learned To Be Truly Confident In My Looks and Feel Beautiful

I was a really awkward kid! I was so uncomfortable in my own skin, with my looks and even my personality. My confidence was low, but when I entered college, I knew I didn’t want to feel that way about myself anymore. I wanted to be able to randomly see my reflection in a store window and feel like I looked beautiful. I wanted to wake up in the morning, look in the mirror and believe that I was pretty. So that’s exactly what I did! 

If you want to feel more confident in your natural beauty, try this advice and it may help you on your important journey to self love. 

Confront Negative Self Talk 

If you pay attention to your thoughts, you may be surprised at just how negative they can become when thinking about your self image. I want you to try watching what you say to yourself about yourself for a week. Become conscious of the thoughts that run through your mind when you’re trying on an outfit or putting on your makeup for the day. Are they encouraging words filled with optimism? Or do you constantly tear yourself down with insults without even realizing it. “Ugh I look so ugly today”...“Why do I have so much acne?”...“ I look fat in this!” These types of thoughts can run rampant in your mind and create a negative belief of self hate. You may not even know that you're your own worst enemy. If you find yourself doing this, I want to encourage you to replace a negative thought with a positive one whenever you're able to notice them. Put in a conscious effort to stop these mean thoughts when you happen to notice them, and STATE a compliment to yourself instead. Replace, “I look ugly in this outfit,” with, “I look gorgeous in this and it’s very flattering,” even if you don’t believe it! What we are trying to do here is rewire your mind into having a positive subconscious. The more you actively replace these negative thoughts with positive ones, the more of a habit it will become for your brain to think positively and deny unnecessary negativity. 

 Mornings With Your Mirror 

Every morning when you wake up and you're getting ready for the day, after you wash your face I want you to grab a mirror. When you do, say something positive about yourself while you have no makeup on and you’re just looking at your natural beauty. Find at least ONE thing to say, of course the more the merrier! Any feature that you like about yourself and then keep pointing things out if inspired to. If you can’t think of anything, then pick out any feature and compliment it anyway! Keep reaping the compliment to yourself, I don’t care if you don’t believe it! Just keep saying it. The more you do this, the easier it will be on a day to day basis. When I first tried this method it was hard for me to point out anything positive, but I just forced myself to pick a feature I didn't even like. My acne was really bad at the time, but I chose to say to myself that my acne could be worse and that it wasn’t all that bad. Over time, I started to really believe that. As time passed, I looked at other parts of my face and body, and picked out things I genuinely liked. The more I reinforced that optimism, the easier it was to believe. Next thing I knew, I was able to pick out a whoooole list of things that I LOVED about myself. My confidence was growing and it felt dang good! 

 I encourage you to take this on so you can learn to love yourself for who you are. It’s such a huge weight off your heart when you are more confident in your skin. It makes things so much easier, gives you a greater sense of peace, and your mind will thank you. 

 Name one feature that you love about yourself!