Attention Girls!

Do you want to boost your confidence and feel more competent?  It all begins with your self-concept. How do you see yourself and what is your mental picture of yourself? 

Self-esteem is how you see and feel about yourself. It’s a self-evaluation. Your self-esteem influences all aspects of your life. Research tells us that in Western cultures, girls’ self-esteem declines significantly during adolescence.  As your body begins to change, your self-esteem begins to decrease. Sociocultural factors, such as unrealistic pictures of ultra-thin magazine models and other media images account for this distortion and decline in esteem. The world glorifies the “perfect body.”  It is difficult to see the positives about your own body when the world is telling you that perfection is the goal. 

Body image is how you view your physical appearance. Do you see yourself as too tall, too short, too thin or too heavy? Are you putting yourself down for how you look? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you are not alone. Most teens fall in this trap of negatives. In order to change these negative thoughts into positive ones, you must focus on the good points about your appearance.

Begin to look at your body as healthy, appreciating how it functions not how it looks. Your body is unique, learn to enjoy it and love it. A poor opinion of your body will lower your self-esteem and you will feel less capable of achieving your goals.  

Self-esteem and body image are important because they influence how you feel about yourself. They can affect your mental health and how you behave. 

Choose to have a positive body image and increase your self-esteem. Like and accept yourself for who you are and recognize your worth. Do not try to fit the media “ideal”.  Focus on having a healthy attitude about your body and how it functions. Avoid friends who decrease your self-worth by putting you down or asking you to be someone you’re not. True friends will love and accept you for who you are, not who they want you to be.  

Knowing yourself, recognizing what makes you happy and how to achieve your goals will help you feel esteemed, capable, strong and in control of your life.  Choose to be happy! 

Please view www.vikkicarrel.com  to learn about events to empower women and girls.                                                                                                                                              Sept. Sept. 15^th – Moms CONNECT With Your Daughters - Salt Lake City, Utah

 Sept. 29^th – Girl Scouts of Utah - Teen Healthy Media Summit - University Of Utah    Vikki will speak on The Power of You! 

The Empowerment Project    www.vikkicarrel.com