#IAmMarvelous: Why We Need To Commit To Loving Ourselves Each And Every Day

Take out a piece of paper and a pen. Now, write down what you love about yourself.

It might seem silly at first, but by writing these things down, you are actively speaking up on your own behalf to say that you are worthy, regardless of what others think. Self-love is the most important part about growing up because it’s so easy to get lost in the blur.

We’re so critical of ourselves and we hardly ever allow ourselves to really appreciate what we have.

These days, we go out to parties, bars and dinner outings and end up fishing for compliments about our outfits or new hairstyles because it’s the only way we know how to feel good about ourselves. The logic being that if someone else doesn’t notice how good you look, you must not look that good.

I won’t pretend like I’m not guilty of it, though. When I wear my little black dress, I always welcome compliments on my appearance because they help make me feel good about myself.

And, I’m also guilty of staring at the skinnier girl in the shorter black dress, which leads me to self-loathing thoughts, like wondering why I don’t look like her.

This, precisely, is the problem.

It’s inevitable because we all want what we don’t have. The straight-haired girl envies the other girl’s curls, while the curly-haired girl stares back, wondering why her hair won’t cooperate as easily as the other girl’s straight hair does.

It’s a vicious cycle and #IAmMarvelous is meant to remind us all that just because we don’t have what another girl does is not grounds for us failing to appreciate the other forms of awesomeness that live inside of us.

The important thing to realize is that the girl in the shorter black dress looks like her and I look like me. She is her and I am me.

It shouldn’t matter that I don’t look like her. I feel confident and pretty in my own skin, enough so to surround myself with others without becoming my own worst critic.

So yeah, I’ll appreciate that girl’s style, but I will not, even for a second, forget how marvelous I am.

Before going out, make a point to stab your inner critic and when you are out, instead of focusing on everyone around you, focus within and about on having a good time. If you’re constantly comparing yourself to others, you’ll never be happy with yourself. Be both fair and good to yourself.

Stop waiting for someone to tell you that you look good. If you feel good about how you look, don’t worry about others' opinions or wait for external validation for what you already know. Accept the compliments because they’re always appreciated, but don’t rely on them to gauge your barometer of self-perception.

Don’t delete your social media post because it didn’t garner the number of likes you wanted. You are not the number of likes on your Instagram.

You are not the number of views on your Snapchat story. You are not your retweets or favorites. You are so much more and you do not need superficial gratification in order to realize that you are gorgeous.

Remind yourself of all of the wonderful things that you are because it’s heartbreaking to see so many ladies who think they’re less than those around them.

You are lovely — realize that and forget all of the noise.

Photo Courtesy: We Heart It