Dove has done it again. It’s a little like NPR’s StoryCorp. I can’t listen to those stories without tearing up, and I can’t watch one of Dove’s self esteem videos without blinking back a few tears. So this week, I’m spinning a tale inspired by their “Choose Beautiful” video.

If you’re not familiar with Dove’s Self Esteem Project, they’ve created material to help parents and teachers improve girls’ self-esteem. As part of Dove’s effort, they’ve created multiple videos bringing attention to women and the body issues we face.

No doubt, young men also struggle with their self-esteem, and I hope somebody is working to help them. But these videos are for women and young women.

The Problem

Women’s self-esteem is no laughing matter. Feeling bad about how we look stops us from pursuing our dreams, causes us to squash our passions, and hide our true selves. All because we don’t feel beautiful.

What We See

Beautiful women grace the covers of magazines, appear on our televisions, strut down runways and red carpets, and sell every manner of product from expensive cars to Doritos.

In this day and age, it’s not enough to be beautiful. You must be perfect. Today, the faces staring out at us from photos have been perfected by hair and make up artists and then modified by this amazing software program called Photoshop.

Watch a woman’s transformation into the perfect face to sell beauty products…

What We Say To Others

For those of us old enough to remember a world before Photoshop, we know we didn’t need an impossible standard of beauty to feel bad about ourselves. I was in Junior High School when I realized I was too short. I wanted to be tall like the popular girls, and my nose had a bump that the pretty girls’ noses didn’t have.

See what I just did there? I just told you how I looked by describing myself in negative terms. I’m short with a bumpy nose.

When you describe yourself, what do you say? Does it sound like the women in video below? Watch what happens when a police sketch artist draws women based on their descriptions of themselves.

What We Say To Ourselves

And these women were being nice to themselves, because someone else was listening. I know that you’ve said way worse stuff about yourself, because I’ve said way worse about myself. But we don’t say that stuff out loud. Why? Because it’s awful.

Listen to just how terrible it sounds when those things we say about ourselves are said to others.

Choose Beautiful

Of course you never say those things to other people, and not just because it’s mean. We don’t say them, because they aren’t true. When we look at others, we see into their hearts and souls. We see their sense of humor, their kindness, their vitality. We see ALL the elements that create beauty. We see them as they really are, and we couldn’t imagine them looking any other way.

That bumpy nose I hate is me. It’s my face, and I wouldn’t look like me without it. Somehow, I look just exactly like I’m supposed to look.

You have a choice. You can choose to see yourself as others see you. You can choose to claim your beauty. Watch these women physically transform by claiming their beauty. Watch them actually become more beautiful by choosing to call themselves beautiful.

Beauty Is a State of Mind

And here’s the real truth about beauty. Beauty is a way of walking. It’s how we smile. It’s found in our love for our families and our enjoyment in life. Beauty is a state of mind.

The women in this video transformed just by thinking they were receiving treatment to become more beautiful…

Legacy

And it’s oh so important for us to Choose Beautiful, because there are young women all over this world listening to us, watching us, learning how to live.

When we Choose Beautiful, we help them choose beautiful. And we know they are. We look at our daughters, our sisters, our mothers, our friends, and we know they are beautiful. We see their beauty, and when we claim our beauty, we make it easier for them to claim their own beauty. We make it possible for them to live fully.

Choose Beautiful

Choose beautiful. Because you are.
Choose beautiful. Because you’ll become more beautiful.
Choose beautiful. Because you’ll help other women feel more beautiful.
Choose beautiful. Because you are.