Positive and Empowering Messages for Women
Tv, radio, and the internet set standards for physical and emotional expectations that are truly unrealistic. In a world where the media has the capability to influence personal perception, it is important to seek out positive and empowering messages for women.
“Hollywood” types make normal people feel inadequate and even hopeless at times. Talk to any woman, and it is guaranteed that they will speak negatively about themselves. The feeling of personal defeat is common amongst our gender.
Media tries to dictate how much we should weigh, what we should wear and how we should look.
Hence, we all buy into it!
Diet and beauty industries are getting rich from our insecurities. Therefore, time and money are wasted. Instead, we should be investing in what really counts, self-love, positive body image, self-esteem and the belief that we can succeed at anything we choose to do, with hard work.
Crazy as it sounds, we must learn to accept ourselves so that we can be happy.
Every woman is created beautifully, and their value is priceless. Through generations, this fact has been lost or at the very least, diminished. It is time, for us to build each other up and pass these great qualities on to our daughters.
In turn, battling traditional media sources is hard enough on its own and then social media gets added into the mix. Not only do women compare themselves with untouchable “stars”, now they are feeling “less than” compared to people they actually know.
With all of these expectations consuming us as women, how do we fight back? How do we just say NO to the things that are hurting us? How do we find positive and empowering messages for women?
Well, before we can discuss solutions for this problem, we must understand each area of our lives that are being harmed by negative influences.
Physical and Emotional Aspects that Will Promote Positive and Empowering Messages
- Self-Love: A regard for one’s own well-being and happiness.
- Body Image: Refers to a person’s emotional attitudes, perceptions and beliefs about their own body.
- Self-Esteem/Self-Worth: The sense of one’s own value as a person. Perception of our importance in our family, our workplace, our community and even within the world.
- Physical Well Being: According to The American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA), this includes lifestyle behavior choices that ensure health, prevents diseases and allows a person to live in a balanced state of body, mind, and spirit.
- Emotional Well Being: State of psychological functioning that affects our thoughts and emotions.
All of these areas affect our well-being as a whole and they must be nurtured to become and remain healthy. Holistic care must be the focus. Holistic health concentrates on caring for emotional, mental and physical parts of our lives. Mental and social influences are just as important in our self-care routines and should be nurtured. Certainly, gaining positive and empowering messages for women is the main goal.
Effects of Negativity on Our Bodies and Minds
- Weight Gain: Many people are emotional eaters and when they feel inadequate, eating makes them feel better temporarily.
- Poor Relationships with Others: When a person does not love themselves, they cannot fully love another.
- Eating Disorders: Studies have shown that bulimia, anorexia and even binge eating are associated with low self-esteem.
- Social Isolation: Avoidance of others when outlooks of one’s self are dim.
- Financial Deficiencies: Over-extending finances to pay for diet plans, gym memberships, cosmetics, and cosmetic surgery can cause hardship for many.
More Issues Caused by Negativity
- Diabetes, Cardiac Issues & Other Medical Conditions: Hand in hand with weight gain, it is not uncommon for physical health issues to be connected to low self-worth.
- Anxiety: Always feeling uneasy and out-of-control are typical features of damaged well-being.
- Depression: A feeling of hopelessness that does not improve within a few days or continues to worsen.
- Suicidal Thoughts or Actions: When depression and hopelessness consume a person and they feel as if this is the only answer.
- Drug Abuse/Alcohol Abuse: Genetics play a factor with these diseases, but social influences and peer pressure are also strong dictators.
- Plus, countless other conditions that are too many to list.
It is very important to note that no medical advice is being given in this article. If you are experiencing any of the above issues, it is important that you seek care from your doctor or emergency services. If you are thinking of suicide or harming anyone else, please call 911 or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 immediately. No matter what you are facing, you are never alone, and help is at your fingertips! Do not feel ashamed or afraid – just reach out.
Ideas for Boosting Self-Esteem with Positive and Empowering Messages
- Make lists: One list should be of your strengths, the other your accomplishments. If you cannot come up with points on your own, grab someone close and have them help you complete this task. Keep the list in a well-seen area and study it often. Looking at these positive acclamations daily will aid in reminding you of the good in yourself.
- Avoid social media or at least avoid the posts from people that make you feel inadequate. Keeping up with the JONESES is never a good idea. People do not reveal real life on social media, they only let you see what they want you to see.
- Decrease or eliminate any source of television, magazines, the movies or talk shows that push their beliefs on you. This may be hard, but it is a necessary part of healing and becoming stronger.
- Eat well: Try to make healthy food choices. Do not follow any fad diets as rebound weight may occur and cause self-esteem to plummet. Many of these crazes are unhealthy all around.
Additional Ideas for Loving Yourself
- Exercise: With doctor’s approval, walking is the best exercise for most people. Get some fresh air or walk in a mall, either way, your mood will improve.
- Surround yourself with those you love. Close bonds with family and friends will nurture your well-being and provide positive and empowering messages for women.
- Avoid drama. Many thrive on negativity and negativity is contagious. Choose to remove yourself from these situations.
- Talk to yourself. Positive self-talk is not the sign of a crazy person, instead, it promotes good mental health.
- Seek out positive influences. Good vibes can come from people you already know, your priest/pastor, a co-worker or family and friends.
Believe it or not, there are some personalities in the media that promote strength, well-being and healthy self-esteem.
People with Positive and Empowering Messages for Women
Priscilla Shirer
Priscilla is the founder of Going Beyond Ministries. I discovered her during my first bible study course a couple of years ago and I am so thankful that I did. Strength consumes you when you listen to her. Real-life events into the story of God so that we can all relate. She will make a difference in her life with her power of speech. Find her on youtube or grab her books here. Whether her words are written or spoken doesn’t matter, she will still have a positive and empowering message for women.
Jennifer Allwood
Jennifer is an online business coach for creative women. Even more so, she is a very motivational speaker about life. Owning a business is not a necessity for benefiting from her advice. Her encouragement and enthusiasm are contagious and after hearing her speak, you are ready to jump in and conquer any task at hand. Find her motivational talks here and here.
Sarah Nicole Landry from The Birds Papaya
Sarah is an influencer on Instagram and her blog and most recently she was on the cover of a well-known magazine. Her great story and outlook are inspirational and her commitment to helping others is awesome! She went through a huge change in her life that included divorce and losing 100 pounds. Raw and honest about the reality of life. Proud of her body, stretch marks and all! Hers is a tale that we can all learn from. I truly admire her!
Erin Treloar from Raw Beauty Talks
As her bio states, she has a great passion for helping girls and women learn to live in self-love. In 2014, she did a series of interviews featuring more than 200 women without make-up or photo edits. She is also a health coach too. A wonderful influencer of positive and empowering messages for women.
Chip Gaines
Ok, stop chuckling! Yep, this article is mainly for promoting self-worth in women and Chip is a guy. So why didn’t I pick his wife instead? Well, even though I adore Joanna, it is Chip that inspires me the most. I have his book, Capital Gaines on Audible and have listened to it several times. Not only are his words encouraging, he actually narrates his own book and his tone and reflection have me hooked! Sure, I love any good remodeling tips, but his story is so much more than that! Never before have I heard a person with such a positive outlook on life! A man of strong faith and conviction and believes in being the best he can be. A glass-half-full will be filled to the brim with his outlook on life! If I could choose any celebrity to meet, it would be him!
Most importantly, these people that I don’t know and those that I love, inspire me to love myself. Their positive and empowering messages help in forming a great personal perception and build my confidence every time I seek their guidance.
Above all, stay positive. Likewise, surround yourself with positive people too. Do this for yourself and for those you love. As a result, a stronger generation filled with self-love will follow.
In Conclusion,
Every day is dynamic and the changes are not always foreseen, therefore, it is important to give yourself some compassion. We are not perfect people; we accept flaws in others so we should do so for ourselves too. By the grace of God, I am what I am!
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So true!!! Words are powerful and we tend to speak what we believe…. even the negative! Sometimes I find myself making snide or joking remarks about myself and I realized I might actually believe those words! I need to be more intentional. Thanks Lisa
Carrie – It is amazing once we become aware of our own negativity. The sad part is that for many years, I constantly referred to myself as fat. Unknowingly, I set the standard for my own daughters who now view themselves as overweight and they are not! We are all trying to be more aware of what we say so that the grandlittles don’t carry on in this fashion.
Great points about empowering women with encouragement. The words we speak are so important – to ourselves and others.
Hi Charissa! Once we make ourselves aware of the subconscious negativity that we often speak, then we can correct ourselves and keep getting stronger as women! Thank you for taking the time to comment on this article!