Before you start reading, take a moment to ask yourself - "do I love myself?" Do you love your body, the way you look or are you sitting there saying well I don't really like my hair or my shape or I have acne or my skin tone or I'm too big or too little.
This epidemic that overtakes women has been my obsession lately. I sit here having talked to so many strong and powerful women who aren't confident in who they are or think this is not right or why can't I look like her and the list goes on. I think here we are in 2019 and we still struggle with confidence. Why?
Somedays I'm like I can do anything - I love me for me and it is honestly amazing what kind of impact it has on my day! Then other days I catch myself comparing myself to others or saying I don't like this about my body or I get frustrated with weight, and I consciously have to stop and tell myself NO Karen - You are an amazing human being! And tell myself all the things that I love about me and all the awesome things I have done and then I'm back to confident me again. BUT WHY ON EARTH DO WE KEEP DOING THIS?!
I know not every single woman deals with this but 95% of women do or have.
Just the fact that we are living and breathing is an absolute scientific miracle and that my dear friends is God's amazing work. And He thinks we are absolutely perfect, so why do we question it. There are so many distractions in front of us and so many things that open up a world of comparison - and if we don't mentally tell ourselves that we are enough and that we are strong and beautiful - well then we will fall into that horrible trap of comparison and jealousy. And that is not a healthy or good place to be. It takes work and lots of it to get yourself to a place of being content and confident. Every.single.day! If you are in a place of lack of self love - take baby steps and learn from mistakes. If you put in the work and time for you, it will pay off. It's a journey and I love this saying when I think of this 'Wisdom comes from the journey not the destination'. We learn the most valuable things when we go through a journey or a process.
Society has created this look or image of what women should be and look like and how they should act and what they should be allowed to do. We have been put in a box and if we don't fight for a change - then I am sorry but it will never happen. Yes women have come a long way from the past, but there are still things that hold us back and we need to empower ourselves so we can empower others. What that looks like is simply you being confident in who you are and going for your goals and dreams and not stoping until you are where you want to be. And encouraging and building up other women! Telling them they are beautiful not because they lost weight but because they are beautiful just the way they are. True beauty comes from within and once we grasp that - look out world here we come!
The only person holding you back is yourself. Not others, not friends, not family ... you can let them influence you, but at the end of the day it's you. Think about how much more you would do if you didn't make excuses and if you actually went for it. And if you are scared of the fear of failing, then sweetheart you are going to be in the same place your whole life. If the place you're in isn't satisfying to you - then make a change and don't fear failure. Failure is inevitable but when you reach your dreams and look back it really doesn't matter because you made it and you are where you wanna be! We so often take other peoples opinions as our own and never go for what we want because someone told you 'no that's a bad idea or that'll never work', when in all honesty a lot of people tell others no because they are afraid they will become successful. If you have a dream then start writing down those goal steps to get you there. And if you're scared of going against what people say, do it anyway. Because if they love you and care about what you want, they WILL support you. Sometimes it takes a bit but they will come around. But you also need to be aware that you will lose some people around you and you have to be okay with that. I can tell you right now for every negative person I have had in my life it seems as if God has replaced that relationship with someone absolutely amazing! Someone who encourages me to be a better me and go for all the things I dream up, and that is how it should be!
Being successful comes in so many forms - it can be anything. But always remember when you reach success and you dream another dream, always stay humble. And always remember to thank God for all the blessings He brings. Thank Him for the days and the journey and everything in between. Because when you sit and think about all the blessings in your life - it humbles you and makes you grateful for where you are at that exact moment.
Living out your dreams requires confidence! And confidence takes effort - day in and day out of you telling yourself that you can and finding things that motivate and inspire you. When you start doing this and it becomes a subconscious habit it is incredible how it spreads into others. Someone sees you going for your dreams and living your best life and they start asking questions and that moment right there you get to be either a torch that lights a fire in them or a wind that blows out there light. BE THE TORCH! Frankly you cannot be putting others down and worshiping Jesus! I'm sorry but they cannot exist together - it is either one or the other. Make sure you are building others up and never tearing someone down. When you hear someone else putting someone down or talking negative about someone - stand up for them! I have seen some incredible transformations in people when just one person says 'hey there is no need to talk negatively about someone else'. Their eyes open wide and they start asking themselves 'what am I doing'. Or they get upset and react, which shows lack of confidence in themselves and you have the opportunity to be a light and encourage them to make a better version of themselves. But in order to get to this place you need to be in a place of confidence and loving you for you. If you don't love yourself and truly love yourself - how in the world are you supposed to give something like love to someone else. You can't give what you don't have. You can fake it - but honey that will only go so far and the consequences are tragic, so don't fake something BE REAL.
I know each and everyone of you have dreams and goals. And even if you sit there and think no I don't - yes you do. Ask yourself are you were you want to be, are you dreaming of a dream home, job etc. Well even if it is something small it's a dream and it's your dream. Don't let others hold you back. Believe in yourself and go for those dreams! I believe in your dreams and the beautiful person you are, so do yourself a favor and believe the same and teach yourself to LOVE you!
I pray each and everyone of you learns to or is confident in who you are. And even if it's just making little changes - they matter and they help to get you to a better version of yourself!
Trust the journey - Trust God
Nothing is impossible the word itself is I'm possible!
