As women, we all know the pitfalls our mind and body can play on us. One day we feel great about ourselves, and the next day we feel unattractive and awkward. Well one of the best ways to change the way we feel about ourselves—and the way we believe other people perceive us—is by changing the way we think!

It’s all in your head!
Feeling good about yourself is a lot more than what you look like to the outside world—feeling good about yourself means being confident in what kind of person you are and how you feel on the inside. To make sure you’re feeling your best and putting your best self forward, it’s important to realize this: some things about yourself you can improve and change, and some you can’t. But remember, those parts of you that can’t be changed are still part of you and you need to learn to embrace those parts too!

For example, you may be shorter than some of your friends and wish you were taller, or you may have green eyes and wish they were blue. Well, all these are things—your height, your eye color—that make you an individual. And only by learning to like these unique attributes can you become happier with who you are—just the way you are.

Change can be good
Sure we all have things about ourselves that make us feel less than totally confident, and some of those things we can change. In fact, some changes can actually make us healthier! It’s these things that we can focus on to help us become stronger, more empowered, and happier in our own skin.

For example, if you think you need to lose weight, take a positive step and talk with your doctor. Together you can come up with a nutrition and exercise plan that will be right for you. But remember, it’s important to set realistic goals for yourself. Don’t be hard on yourself and decide you have to fit into a size eight in a month. Instead, make a commitment that you’ll exercise every day for 30 minutes. By making your commitment to a daily goal, you’ll get a sense of accomplishment out of each day. By dedicating yourself to the process of becoming healthier, you’ll start to feel better about yourself—and it’ll show!

The power of thought
Taking steps to take better care of ourselves can help us feel better. But beyond the physical changes we make in our daily routine, you may also want to consider making some mental changes. Consider these helpful hints for starting to be a good friend to yourself:

	Don’t let your inner voice put you down—It’s easy to tell ourselves how much we need to change and how much better we could be if we were different, but that’s not productive or healthy. Instead, let your inner voice tell you how smart you are for taking care of yourself and staying healthy. Use your inner voice to remind yourself that you’re a strong, empowered woman who is fabulous just the way she is, even if you’re still working on making yourself healthier and happier.
	Turn your negative criticisms of yourself into positives—Every time you find yourself criticizing something about yourself, stop. Take a minute and turn that negative critique into a positive. For example, if you find yourself saying, “I just don’t have the patience to finish this project…” turn that statement around and tell yourself, “I like to do things the right way and it takes time. I need to give myself the time to get this done so I feel good about it.” By finding the positive, your sense of self will become stronger and you’ll feel better.
	Make a habit of complimenting yourself—Why should you wait for other people to tell you how great you are? Take a minute at the end of every day to remind yourself of something good you did that day. Paying yourself a compliment is a great way to begin to feel like the confident woman you are!

Only by embracing all parts of ourselves, those we can change and those we can’t, can we begin to become healthier. Remember, taking care of yourself physically and emotionally is important. So what are you waiting for? Start doing all you can to get healthy inside and out and then tell yourself how great it is that you’re doing it!