I just saw this video on futurefreaksme blog. It is essentially an advert by Dove. Yet it really triggered something in me emotionally and got me thinking...
Why is it that as women we see ourselves so differently to the way others see us?
If I had been one of the women in that video I would have described myself as having a long face, small smile, thin lips, big forehead and big chin. I have always been a harsh critic of myself. A lot of this stems from the bullying I received as a child for the way I looked. Not that I looked strange, in fact when I look at pictures of myself I see a small, cute little red head but at the time I hated myself. This is pretty much the same for most of the periods in my life. Even if I look at pictures from 6 months ago, at the time I may not have thought I looked nice; too fat, too skinny, too this too that but when I look back I see something completely different.
I sat listening to these women describing themselves. I was literally shouting at the screen saying "that is not true!! you are so beautiful". Upon actually hearing myself saying these things, what I realised was that in fact I was talking to myself. I need to listen to my own thoughts about those women and accept the words myself...
"that is not true!! you are so beautiful"
So how does it make sense for me to continue with the negative opinions and beliefs I have about myself when I am shouting at the screen to these ladies that their descriptions of themselves are so wrong?
The truth is that I wish I could love myself more and I try everyday. This video has made me see that actually I am not alone in the way I see myself. All these other women feel the same. This gives me strength and courage to try and like even a tiny bit of myself.
I really think that as women we all deserve to love ourselves and there is nothing wrong with that. People say 'nobody is perfect' but actually I think every one of us is perfect... Our flaws make us perfect. Because Nature doesn't make mistakes, we are all exactly how we are suppose to be.
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All my love
You are absolutely beautiful Ashly. Inside and out! You're always so lovely and I love chatting with you. All of those things that you dislike about yourself are the things that make you "you" and they all add up to make wonderful lady that you are!!
ReplyDeleteI bet your dog agrees with me too :P x
Aww Leona you are an absolute darling. You always make me laugh with your funny tweets. These are such nice things you have said and I really appreciate them dearly. Poppi wouldn't care if I looked like a rat as long as she was getting cuddles and food lol. But seriously you are so sweet thank u x
DeleteThis is beautiful Ashly, so from the heart... I love when someone opens up and says what they really think.
ReplyDeleteOver the years I have chosen things about myself and played that feature up... I have amazing hair, it is thick and currently very long with lots of body. My hair is beautiful...
I have other things too that I have chosen to see as pretty wonderful about myself... it took years for me and I still work on it all the time but I am worth it and so are you ;)
Launna you say such lovely things. I think it is amazing to hear you say you like your hair. I bet it is beautiful :-) such a sweetheart u r xxx
DeleteYou are gorgeous Ashly! But it's true, the harshest critic in life is yourself. I used to hate way I looked when I was younger and even those who I considered my "friends" bullied me. Though you might see certain features of yourself as major flaws, others will think they are small details and perfect the way you already are. I used to hate my teeth, nose, eyes - everything, but most people don't even notice these things.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment lovely it was really sweet!! I think you are right most people don't notice what we think are our flaws. Perhaps those are the things that make us who we really are xx
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