Bringing Out Your Inner Beauty, Not Someone Else's

Many women aren't happy with their appearance and are always seeking a better body. Combating body image challenges isn't easy, but the payoff is rewarding. Learn how to love your body and bring out your inner beauty

Unlike men, many women aren't happy with their appearance and are always seeking a better body. Research indicates that typically women have lower self esteem than men. In one study 78% of women wished they were a smaller size. Combating body image challenges isn't easy, but the payoff is rewarding. Learn how to love your body and bring out your inner beauty.

Understand why you're Focusing on Flaws

According to Jess Weiner, self esteem expert, focusing on flaws can be an effort to distract you from something else. If you're going through emotional turmoil, you may concentrate on a flaw instead of dealing with the issue. The next time you start talking about how big your legs are, think about what's really happening in your life. And then say something really nice about yourself.

Hang a Picture of Yourself

Select a picture that you like of yourself. Hang it in your mirror and look at it daily. Remember what you like about yourself.

Reprogram the Negative Self Talk

Every time you think "I wish my legs weren't so big" or "I wish my stomach was flatter," tell yourself to stop. You may be surprised how many times this negative self talk creeps into your day.

Discover what you like about Yourself

Instead of focusing on the negatives, ask yourself what you like about your body. Do you have a nice smile or great hair? Think about these attributes often to combat the negative self talk.

Show Love for your Body

If you're putting off buying new clothes because you don't like how your thighs look, go shopping right away. Learn to love your body the way it is now and don't withhold making yourself look your best as a punishment.

Be Realistic about Media Images

Since only 2% of women fall into the "super model" category, be realistic about body image. Most women look just like us, so we're doing a huge disservice to our self esteem by comparing ourselves to unrealistic body images.

Changing your body image will do wonders for your self esteem. Instead of beating yourself down for not being a smaller size, you can focus on what counts - like finding your inner beauty.