Challenged: 1 Down & 3 Up

Last week I got to see this really great speaker at school. Her name was Erin Foley and she spoke about confidence, mainly directed at college girls. The talk was truly awesome. She touched on a lot of points that really hit home and I've got to say, I truly did got a lot out of it. I'd consider myself a confident person who is fairly sure of themselves and what I want to do with my life. I live in an apartment with  5 other girls. They are each five strong, confident and beautiful roommates but at the end of the day we all are guilty of self-downing.  This was one of the big things that Erin talked about that really made me take a step back and ultimately realize how much I do this to myself.

This is not something that we're born with. As a toddler you don't walk around saying how gross you look today. It's something that we learn on television, in magazines, and from the other girls around us.  You know when you've had a long day, you woke up late, your feeling frazzled and you feel like nothing's going your way? Of course you do, we all have them. Well it's at the end of this super long day and you finally see your best friend so what do you do? You walk into the room so exasperated and start ragging on yourself.

"Ugh, it's been the longest day. I woke up late. I look so gross." *PAUSE 

Why do we do this? Somehow, to make ourselves feel justified in our exasperation we have to vent about how awful we are. Examples? Ugh, I've gained so much weight. Gosh, how stupid could I be. Ugh, he'll never like me. Honey, pause. You look fine, you've had a rough day. Eat that ice-cream cone and don't feel bad about it and who cares about that boy? Why do we constantly find the need to tear ourselves down? You never hear a guy looking in the mirror and saying, "Eww my muscles really look small today".

So in an effort to fix, or at least recognize this fault in so many girls, Erin challenged us to this little test. When your friend comes into a room ragging on herself tell her to pause. Next, ask her to say three good things about herself.

I am smart.
I am kind.
I am funny.

The biggest mistake that so many of us make with this issue is that we don't even realize we're doing it. I challenge you to try this with your girlfriends. Hey, maybe you'll even stop yourself from putdowns now that you're thinking about it. We're so much better than this. Let's start with little steps!

What do you think of the 1 Down & 3 Up Challenge,
Emily