Feel safe to be you: Confidence and Self-esteem

One of the challenges many girls and women have is a lack of self-esteem.  When so many women of my mom’s generation tell me that in their childhood years they felt that they were supposed to be seen and not heard, it is easy to understand why this lack of self-esteem has filtered down to the girls of today.

Blaming the past is not going to solve this, and this blog series is about finding a solution, not rehashing the problem.  But I do think that every girl who read this and feels that this blog series applies to her, should look at when the lack of self-esteem and the feelings of insecruity started.  If this applies to you, I have a few questions that you should ask yourself:

1. When was the last time that you felt safe enough to just be yourself without giving thought to who was around you or where you were?
2. Who is the person with whom you can be most yourself?  And why?
3. What do you like most about yourself?
4. What do you enjoy doing?  Now this may seem like an irrelevant question, but the reason for it will be clear later in the series.  Just write down everything in life that you enjoy doing (hobbies, interests, social activities, sports activities, etc.)
5. Do you feel that you know who you are or are you still learning about your likes, dislikes, beliefs, etc.
6. Do you ever feel inferior to your friends/classmates?  If so, why?
7. Do you ever feel intimidated by your friends/classmates/other boys or girls in your age group?  If so, why?
8. What would you like to do in your life that you feel you don’t have the confidence to do eg.  participating in a specific activity, dressing the way you’d like to dress, speaking up in public, etc.

Think about these questions and when you have answers, write them down.  Your answers will help you as the blog series progresses.  I look forward to you using the series to develop your confidence and being the best person you can be! 

For more information about the Leave No Girl Behind movement or the Leadership Program and Worldwide Network for girls, please visit:  http://www.leavenogirlbehind.org/.