One Quick Change Guaranteed to Instantly Boost Your Self-Confidence

Okay, ladies. Are you ready for this? I have a life-altering tip for you. One quick change guaranteed to instantly boost your self-confidence. It’s time to be set free from your number one critic. The one person who has the power to make you question everything about yourself. The one person who is always pointing out every potential flaw. No, I’m not talking about your mother, the PTO super-mom, or even your brutally honest 3 year old. I’m talking about yourself!

My Biggest Critic

It’s 8:30 p.m. The kids are down for the night. Sweet! Time to change and enjoy some couch time with my hubby.

Suddenly, it's 9 o'clock, and I’m still in the bathroom brutally critiquing myself from every possible angle, with the exception of standing on my head. (Which I may have done had it been a full length mirror.) I’m on tiptoe, leaning so far over my counter my nose is two inches from the mirror. I squint and strain in the harsh fluorescent light to determine which pore is largest. Which new line is deepest? Which dark circle is darkest?

Then it happens. I have a revelation.

Why am I doing this? When is anyone ever going to see this stuff!

When has anyone ever put their nose two inches from yours and stared at every bump, line, blemish and hyperpigmentation? Never! (If this has happened you desperately need some new friends.)

So here’s the life-altering tip: Stop leaning over the counter!

It’s ridiculous, but we all do it. Typically people will stand 2 to 3 feet from you, and what they’re most likely to notice is your eyes. Your expression. Your smile.

Seriously, have you ever walked away from a conversation with a friend and thought, Man, her pores are huge. Scripture calls Satan “the accuser of the brethren.” If he can’t make us feel guilty for something, he will definitely try to make us doubt ourselves.

And don’t even get me started on the commercials touting the latest miracle products guaranteed to eliminate the flaw du jour. If saggy skin, enlarged pores and uneven skin tone weren’t the latest got-to-be-fixed crazes would we even notice? Do you think your husband has a clue what uneven skin tone is?

My bangs - My nemesis

I have always disliked my “huge” forehead. In an effort to hide it my poor bangs have been curled, sprayed, pulled, razored, straightened, and even, for a dark period in the 80s, permed! 

One day, while fighting with my bangs (though my husband claims they always look the same), the Lord posed this question, “What do you notice first when you look at someone?” When I look at myself in the mirror I inevitably stare directly at my forehead, but what about when I look at someone else?

Let’s experiment

Walk past a mirror. Turn and glance at yourself as if glancing at another person. Where did you look first? Was it your oversized forehead, undersized chest, or ever deepening lines around your mouth? Most likely you looked at your eyes. Not the lines around them, the bags under them and not even the stray hairs begging to be plucked from above them. Chances are you looked directly in your eyes.

Your Worth

The world has enough critics. Why be your harshest one?

You are fearfully and wonderfully made. (Psalm 139:14) If you have accepted Christ, you are the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:21) You are the crowning jewel of all creation. It wasn’t until God made woman that He finally considered His masterpiece complete.

By all means, take good care of yourself. But don’t scrutinize over every line, sag and pore. Resist the urge to allow the latest magazine cover to define your worth and beauty.

God sees us as spotless and blameless, without blemish. Our husbands are called to do the same. (Ephesians 5:19-33) Should we not extend ourselves that same measure of grace and favor?                                                          

All creation declares His glory, and you, my sister are no exception. (Click HERE for more on this.) Take a deep breath. Smile. Walk into this day standing tall. And for goodness sake… Stop leaning over the counter!

Blessings,

Jenny Zentz

Jenny is a stay-at-home mom with two amazing kids, a wonderful husband and an awesome God who keeps it all together, even when she is falling apart! Jenny says her mess is her message, and she is a firm believer in the power of transparency. You can find and connect with Jenny on her blog at www.JennyZentz.com where her mission is to help women discover practical ways to apply the power of God's Word to their everyday stuff! You can also follow her on Facebook here: www.facebook.com/jennyzentz.