After a rather difficult day during a hectic week, I decided to have a "comfort" evening. For me, this means crawling into my oldest most comfortable pajamas, fixing a favorite meal, and watching a well- loved movie. My choice this time was Bridget Jones's Diary as it always makes me laugh and I think Colin Firth is a real hunk.
I have a favorite scene. It's where Bridget gets stuck eating dinner with a group of friends, most of whom are married. They give her a hard time about being single. As she gets ready to leave, Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) comes down the stairs and bumbles through a speech about how he likes her even though he shouldn't. Their conversation is pure "Pride and Prejudice," but one line he says always brings tears to my eyes.
He says to Bridget, "I like you just the way you are."
When I hear this line, I always think it is the best pick up line there ever was. Every man should memorize it. I told this to my boyfriend and laughingly said he needed to say this to me more often. He smiled a mischievous grin and said, "This is a line you need to say to yourself more often."
He's a wise man, that boyfriend of mine and so right! As a great believer in the power of affirmations, I decided that every morning when I get up and look in the mirror, I will say "I like ME just the way I am!"
I've been practicing this affirmation for quite awhile and I have found it helpful. I admit there are days when I look in the mirror and it is really hard to get the affirmation out. But I've learned to make myself say it with gusto, even if it makes me laugh.
If you struggle with self-confidence, why not try this. It can't hurt. Say it right now "I like ME just the way I am!" Okay, now say it again with even more feeling. Keep saying it over and over until you feel the power of these eight little words.
It's okay not to believe these words right away. I know I struggle with it sometimes. I think it's because it takes time to quiet those old voices, who like Bridget's married friends, like to remind us of where we fall short. But I really believe if we just keep repeating the phrase, eventually we will convince our minds to believe it.
And there is scientific evidence that supports this. Evidently, you really can teach your mind to believe something you say over and over again. Then again, this ought to make sense. Many of us learned the negative things we believe about ourselves because someone told them to us over and over again. So, why wouldn't positive affirmations work?
I plan to keep practicing these eight little words and I encourage you to give them a try, as well. Who knows you may find your self-confidence begins to grow the more you repeat the words! For my part, I will get up tomorrow morning, look in the mirror at my squashed hair, sleep wrinkled face and say "I like ME just the way I am!"
