How Can We Build Self Confidence and Tear Down Negative Body Imagery?

As you may have read from my first post Look Ma…I’m blogging, I had the privilege to meet an up and coming actress named Gina Rodriguez (Actress; Filly Brown).  She was filled with so much energy and positivity that I decided immediately I needed to follow her on Twitter.  Since we met, we’ve exchanged a few tweets here and there and earlier this week she sent this message out to the Twitterverse and below was my response.

While I myself am on a “Getting Skinny” journey, make no mistake about it – I am not looking to be a skinny size 0, a size 2, a size 4, a size 6 or even a size 8.  I’m realistic about my particular body shape, lifestyle and genetic make up and am completely satisfied with myself when I’m at what I consider to be my goal weight.  It may not be within the ranges provided by BMI charts, but it’s where I feel the most comfortable with my health, lifestyle and overall body image.

Thankfully, growing up, my family would always find ways to compliment and build me up, instead of tear me down.  Trust me, they did a wonderful job at building me up – so much so that friends who weren’t brought up that way, admire my confidence in almost any situation.

Sometimes I think it can be to my detriment as well since a lot of the times that I walk into a room, no matter what size/weight I am, I think I’m one of the most beautiful, smart, successful girls in the room (may be why I’m still single as well, but we’ll tackle that another time 😉 ).  Whether I am or not is always in the eye of the beholder of course, but my motto is “If you don’t believe you’re AWESOME, who will?”  Good or bad, this is the way I generally approach every situation I come across, because I believe there is a lot of truth in that statement. 🙂

Which brings me back to Gina’s Tweet.  Why does beauty have to be defined and equal the measurements and looks of a Victory Secret’s model – 5’9″+ 34-23-34?  How can we push ourselves and the rest of the world to focus on true self worth vs physical attributes? One of the many questions that I struggle with for my generation and future generations to come.

For my part, in my own little world, I tend to be positive and complimentary with all my family and friends.  Since my family was that way with me, it’s second nature to me.  Below are some of the things I say often to family, friends and pets (their family too!):

Girlfriend Hello – “Hey pretty girl”

Boyfriend Hello – “Hey handsome”

Niece Talk – “Who’s the most beautiful girl in whole wide world?”

Nephew Talk – “Why are you soooo cute!”

Dog Talk – “Who’s the cutest little boy/girl?”

If you didn’t grow up constantly being complimented for just being you, it’s not too late.  If you become positive and complimentary to others, no matter what stage you are in life, they will become the same way with you and hopefully the positivity will spread and infect those around you, me and maybe eventually the world. 🙂 A girl can dream, can’t I?  Did I also mention I’m an optimist? 😉

What are some ways you’ve been able to build self confidence in yourself and/or others?  What can we do to stop negative body imagery?

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Rocio Chavez

Digital Content Creator & Multimedia Designer at Your Sassy Self

I'm a Mexican-American, Sassy, Bilingual, Professional Woman with a passion for life long learning, sharing, and living my best life. I'm the founder and digital content creator for Your Sassy Self and work full time as a Multimedia Designer. Let's connect and see how we can change the world...or at least change our perspective of it. 😉

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