BE YOURSELF. BE YOU!

"I wish my stomach was thinner"...."I wish my thighs were skinnier"...."I wish my hair was curly"....

"I hate my body"...."Why can't I look like her?"...."I wish I could dress that cute"...."I hate my nose"

Do all of these thoughts sound familiar to you? I know they do to me!

Yes..we have all been there where we look at ourselves in the mirror ever so often

 and nit pick at every little thing that we don't like about ourselves. Sometimes daily.

It's really tough to enjoy and get the most out of life when we are constantly being negative towards ourselves. People who haven't learned to accept and get along with themselves sometimes tend to have more difficulty accepting and getting along with others around them. We are told to "love your neighbor as yourself." A few years back, I confess that I spent my fair share of time focusing and comparing myself with others while having constant negative thoughts about myself and who I was.
I also found myself comparing other's lives with mine and focusing on the work God was doing in THEIR lives rather than focusing on all the many blessings and work that He was doing in MINE.
All of this got me no where. I was negative, jealous, bitter, and really tired emotionally & physically.


The Bible says a good tree will bear good fruit, and a rotten tree will bear rotten fruit. Likewise, the "fruit" of our lives comes from the "root" within us. If you're rooted in shame, guilt, inferiority, rejection, lack of love and acceptance, etc., the fruit of your relationships will suffer along with that also. However, once you know of God's unconditional love for you and begin to accept yourself and others, eventually these new roots will produce good fruit, and your relationships will thrive and prosper!!


Here are a few tips that I believe will help you succeed at being yourself and loving yourself!!

1. Never say or think negative things about yourself

Examples:"I never do anything right." "I'll never change." "I'm ugly." "I look terrible." "I'm dumb." "Who could ever love me?"

Matthew 12:37 

by your words you will be justified..., and by your words you will be condemned….

Proverbs 23:7

as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.

The way we talk and think about ourselves reveals how we feel about ourselves. 

2. Speak not good but GREAT things about yourself 
For example: "I am the righteousness of God in Christ." "I am made acceptable in the Beloved." "God created me and formed me with His own hands, and God doesn't make mistakes." "I am fearfully and wonderfully made"

I like starting part of my day by making good confessions about myself. I do this while I am driving to work, sometimes during work, while I'm cleaning the house, etc. I encourage you for a few days to look in the mirror at yourself and say "God loves and accepts me unconditionally, and so do I"  
You might feel uncomfortable or stupid doing it at first, but I promise you this really does work!!


3. Never compare yourself with other people.
I have to tell you....God must LOVE variety or He wouldn't have created us all differently—even down to our fingerprints. We will never succeed at being ourselves if we are constantly trying to be like someone else. Believe me I have tried this and I am sure you have too! Other people can be a good example to you, but duplicating even their good traits will manifest differently through your individual personality. So.... focus on YOUR abilities, YOUR talents, YOUR traits and all the many gifts that God has blessed YOU with.  

4. Focus on your potential instead of your limitations.
 Actress Helen Hayes was told early in her career that if she were four inches taller she'd be the greatest actress of her time. Her coaches tried various methods of stretching her, but nothing increased her height. She refused to concentrate on the supposed limitation of being five feet tall and decided to concentrate on her potential. As a result, she was eventually cast as Mary, Queen of Scotland—one of the tallest queens who ever lived! I love this story!

5. Find something you like to do that you do well, and do it over and over. 
If you spend your time doing things you're not good at, it'll frustrate you and cause you to feel defeated and unsuccessful. Find something that you love or enjoy and do it often.

6. Have the courage to be different and deal with criticism. 
Be a God-pleaser, not a man-pleaser (Galatians 1:10). If you dare to be different, you'll have to expect some criticism. Going along with the crowd—when you know in your heart God's leading you a different way—is one reason people don't succeed at being themselves. You won't like yourself very much if you go against your own convictions.

7. Keep your flaws in perspective.
People with a high level of confidence have just as many weaknesses as people without confidence, but they concentrate on their strengths—not their flaws or weaknesses. So try and concentrate on all the strengths that you have instead of focusing so much on the weaknesses. Our weaknesses can be made strong. God gives us weaknesses that we become humble and come unto Him. (Ether 12:27)

I hope that you enjoyed the tips that I shared with you today.

Now go out there and be the best

 YOU that God has created YOU to be!!