Put on Your Crown – Beauty

Queen Latifah dedicates a chapter in her book, Put On Your Crown, to Beauty – something about which everyone has an opinion or preference.  After all beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

It’s also something that many of us have difficulty finding within ourselves.  Latifah recounts a story about her mom – a high school teacher who strives to inspire a community of troubled teens.  She asks her students to complete a simple, but empowering exercise that I think we should all try.

Create a list of all the things you like about yourself.   They can be physical or personality traits, special talents or skills, emotional, mental or spiritual…the idea is not to limit yourself.  So, for example, here’s a couple of mine…

• I’ve got a great sense of style.
• I’m proud of keeping myself healthy.
• I take initiative.
• I’ve got great skin.

So now it’s your turn.  Start writing.  Try to write as many as you can in 2 minutes.  Take note of how long it takes you to write down your first item…

OK, 2 minutes are up!  How did you do?  Did you get 1, 5, 10 or more?  Did you struggle with your first item?  If so, consider why you’re so hard on yourself.

If you didn’t write down anything, go ask someone you love what they love about you and start with that.

Now, you need to tape the list to your bathroom mirror and read it to yourself, preferably out loud as that’s much more powerful!  Do this everyday, first thing in the morning to energize yourself for your day, and before you go to bed to inspire blissful sleep.  Some of you may think it’s hokey or you may feel a little weird when you first start.  But what’s the harm in giving it a shot?

Take note of how you feel after a week, two weeks, a month, of consistently reinforcing to yourself just how fabulous you are!  Self-love is the greatest love of all.  Without it, we cannot truly and fully love others.

“I wish every woman would learn to love herself and embrace what she was given naturally, even her small imperfections.  The point is to be healthy, feel good in your own skin, and play up your best assets.  Whether you’re short or tall, thick or thin, the beauty comes from how you carry yourself, how you care for your appearance, and the inner glow that confidence brings.  A girl can be born plain, but if she believes herself to be gorgeous, she can be the sexiest woman in the room.” – Queen Latifah