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Summer is the time when the amount of clothes we wear seems to decrease. We swap the boots for flip flops and the long sleeves for crop tops. Our shorts are getting shorter and bikinis are coming out of the bottom of our drawers.
But some of us don’t really feel comfortable wearing a bikini at the beach or in the pool. We are afraid of what other people might think or we just don’t like what we see when we look in the mirror.
I’m guilty for feeling like this. In fact, I’m constantly terrified of what people think when they see me. I’m also guilty of not being happy with how my body looks when I look in the mirror.
In a few days, I’m going to the beach and I want to wear my bathing suit without constantly feeling judged. Maybe you are dealing with the same thing. What can we do to feel much more comfortable and confident in our own skin?
Change your mindset
The first step to feeling confident is to focus your thoughts. When you look in the mirror, what are some of the things you notice first?
Do you view yourself negatively? Do you immediately start noticing the things you don’t like about yourself?
If you answered yes, then that’s a problem.
But don’t worry, you can learn to change your mindset to start seeing things in a more positive light.
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How? When you start noticing the things you don’t like, take a minute to notice the things you like about yourself.
Do you think your eyes are a beautiful color? Do you have straight teeth without the aid of braces? Do you have strong legs or arms?
Ask yourself which of my features do I like the most?
Then go deeper than your surface. What do you like about your personality?
Are you funny or nice? Maybe you enjoy trying to be nice even to strangers. Maybe it’s that you always try to smile.
When you start thinking more positively about yourself, you start feeling more confident.
Learn to accept your flaws
Maybe you weren’t blessed with straight teeth or naturally fair skin, but there’s not much we can do to change that. We could go to the dermatologist or try over-the-counter acne products, but we may never achieve flawless, clear skin all year round. (Now that would be a dream, wouldn’t it?)
But you know what, it’s fine.
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Now, accepting your flaws doesn’t mean you can’t change anything about yourself.
In my case, I may never have perfect skin. A few years ago I started having really bad seizures and I still have the scars to prove it. I accept this for myself, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to prevent future breakouts and even try to erase my scars. It just means that I’m okay with my skin not being perfect right now or in the future.
If you are overweight and want to achieve a healthy weight, let me tell you something. Don’t hate your body. Accept that he may not be in his best shape right now, but know that you have the power to change that. It all starts with loving your body as it is now.
“You look good today”
If you feel like you look great today, compliment yourself. It feels good when other people compliment your hair or outfit, doesn’t it? So why shouldn’t you compliment yourself too?
If you like the way your outfit shows off your body shape or your eye color, say so yourself.
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Your self-esteem does not depend on what others think of you.
It feels good when people notice your outfit or your hair, but your self-esteem shouldn’t depend on what other people say, whether in person or online. If you have a social media account, it can be easy for a photo to get inundated with likes and sympathetic comments that boost your self-esteem. But that same picture can also receive a negative comment about how “fat” or “ugly” you look.
Do you see the problem?
The same image that once made you feel beautiful and good now makes you feel bad or insecure. So, who is right ?
It’s really not up to these comments or anyone else to decide. If you feel good about yourself, then embrace it.
Oh, by the way, you look fantastic today.
Surround yourself with good people
To feel more confident, you need to surround yourself with people who make you feel good about yourself. If you have toxic friends who make you feel bad about yourself, then they are not good friends and you should get rid of them.
Work on finding friends who support you, care about you, and treat you with kindness. These friends will make you feel so good about who you are because they will accept you for yourself.
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But you shouldn’t just expect them to compliment you or say nice things about you, you should compliment them too. Tell them their hair looks good or that the nail color they chose looks good on them. Be sincere.
The rule of thumb has always been to treat others as you would like to be treated. This includes your closest friends.
love yourself
You really are an amazing person. From the way you laugh to the way your hair looks when you wake up every morning. Everything about you, while not perfect, is amazing.
I know it’s true. Do you?
An important step to being more confident and comfortable in your own skin is to love everything about yourself.
picture by Hassan OUAJBIR of Pexels
Work on finding the happiness within you and let that happiness shine.
If you love yourself, you need to take care of yourself. Be aware of what you put into your body and what you feed your mind. Take a break from social media if you need it or get enough sleep. Eat balanced meals that fill you up and fuel you throughout the day.
Just take care of yourself the way you need to.
We’re all beautiful, but sometimes we get so caught up in what other people think of us that we forget about it. Instead, we hide our beauty from the world because we don’t want their opinions to hurt us. But we can’t spend our life cowering because we’re afraid of what people might say.
Summer is especially one of the most difficult times to feel good about yourself. Everyone talks about getting the perfect “summer body,” but who are they to say what the perfect summer body looks like? Now, more than ever, it’s time to love ourselves for who we are, flaws and all.