Music is so therapeutic for me. I find meaning in it’s words and the messages it sends. Years ago a teen girl I was working with was struggling with body image. At the time, the song below was popular. We listened to these words to help empower her to believe in herself rather than allow her beauty to be defined by those around her.

Beautiful by Christina Aguilera

“Every day is so wonderful
And suddenly, i saw debris
Now and then, I get insecure
From all the pain, I’m so ashamed

I am beautiful no matter what they say
Words can’t bring me down
I am beautiful in every single way
Yes, words can’t bring me down
So don’t you bring me down today

To all your friends, you’re delirious
So consumed in all your doom
Trying hard to fill the emptiness
The piece is gone left the puzzle undone
That’s the way it is

You are beautiful no matter what they say
Words can’t bring you down
You are beautiful in every single way
Yes, words can’t bring you down
Don’t you bring me down today…

No matter what we do
No matter what they say
When the sun is shining through
Then the clouds won’t stay

And everywhere we go
The sun won’t always shine
But tomorrow will find a way
All the other times

’cause we are beautiful no matter what they say
Yes, words won’t bring us down, oh no
We are beautiful in every single way
Yes, words can’t bring us down
Don’t you bring me down today”

The message I take from this is to find your own beauty. Why do we allow the world to define beautiful for us? Remember that beauty is not just about looks, but true beauty is about your heart. I created an exercise in college to help clients find their self love and beauty. The mirror exercise is to stand in front of a full length mirror and force positive self talk. You start by saying “I love you ____” and insert your name. Then say “I love____  and ____” and insert one external trait and one internal trait. Here’s an example: “I love you Teri. I love your passion for helping others and your eyes.” Doing this exercise daily helps people to shift their versions of beauty to be what you truly love about yourself rather than leaving it up to others. Remember to not say the same thing every day. Keep a list and try to do something different each time. Pretty soon you will have a big list of all you love about yourself to help you see that YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL! Don’t let anyone tell you differently!