At age 23, Jacqueline was involved in a horrible auto accident and burned so badly that even after 40 surgeries, she is disfigured beyond recognition. Most of us would not find her very attractive.

Do you spend time looking at the flaws in your face and figure and thinking you would be happier if you could make certain improvements? Did you make New Year’s resolutions to diet, go to the gym or ride your bike? Are you checking out the new lines on your face with increasing discouragement as we enter a year when you will celebrate being one year older?

It doesn’t have to be that way. You don’t have to change how you look in order to be and feel beautiful. When Oprah showed the clip of her meeting with Jacqueline, every one of her guests agreed that Jacqueline is beautiful. You could see her beauty, beauty that shone through from her inner light. When she smiled, a smile with little resemblance to a mouth, we all smiled with her!

Of course, we don’t benefit from comparing ourselves to folks who are disfigured and I am not suggesting that you should be happy with yourself because you don’t look like Jacqueline! It is important to remember that the same inner light shines out from you, too. Your  beauty  shines from within. That beauty is enhanced when you learn to see it in yourself and to love yourself. Then you shine, you glow and you attract! (attract is the root word of “attractive”) As an added benefit, you attract more beauty, more vitality and more good.

Do you think you can get a better job, a better lover, better clothes, better opportunities or more of something if you are just a little prettier, thinner, younger, bustier and so on? Most of us want to look more beautiful because of what we think it will get us.

We’ve got it all backwards.

What if you could change your perspective and feel really great about how you look, right now? Lots of women respond to this with fear. “If I love myself as I am”, they say,” I am afraid I would never be motivated to change and I really want to change!”

Lets consider motivation for a moment. One way of looking at motivation is that our motivation to do things often comes from the desire to avoid an outcome or experience. Sometimes we are motivated to achieve recognition or rewards. In school and in our culture we are accustomed to this kind of motivation.

I know from experience that change can come from inspiration rather than motivation. This inspiration arises out of the experience of love, appreciation and joy. Have you ever known two people in a mutually loving relationship or been in one yourself? People who are in love feel so good about themselves because the other person sees their beauty. This helps to remind them of their beauty and they act from that place.They act from inspiration.

Another example of this is the glowing bride. A happy bride glows with beauty. She is the object of love and adoration. It isn’t just the dress, the hairdo and the makeup that make her glow. The special feelings about herself are amplified and they show up to everyone observing.

Do you notice how inspiration is so much more effortless?

It is self love that naturally moves you toward the fulfillment of your desires! Try this out yourself. To begin adoring yourself like a love struck admirer, find something positive to focus on about yourself and write it down in a little notebook. Keep adding to the positives. It’s OK to repeat the same ones over, too. When you look in the mirror, remind yourself about these great things. You can even say some of them aloud. It may seem corny but, I am doing it along with you. Give it a try. Its fun and easy and it works!

As a result, women make choices about what to wear, what to eat, what to love and what to hate about themselves all based on what they will look like. You don’t see many men squeezing themselves into tight undergarments to make themselves look smaller and smoother. And women reject and criticize the very parts of themselves that support them in being strong and capable in the world. The other day, I heard two young women discussing how they had stopped hiking or using the treadmill, uphill because it made their legs look too muscular! So, what’s the decision here? Good cardio? Forget about it. I’d rather have a weak heart and thin legs.

Our culture has always had strong views about what makes a woman beautiful. The prized look changes from time to time, but it is always narrow and limiting. Women come in all shapes and sizes. Most of us can never look like the models in the clothing ads. Some of those who can, only do so by compromising their health and their enjoyment of a normal life.

What if we women staged a rebellion? What if you just decided that you are MAGNIFICENT NOW? What if you started to love and appreciate your body for all the things it does for you? Do you have strong legs that hold you up and let you walk around this beautiful world? Do you have broad hips that helped you deliver a beautiful, healthy child? What about your organs on the inside that keep your blood pumping and nutrients flowing to every cell?

This summer, I invite you to put on your swimsuit or shorts and get out and enjoy the beach, the pool,or the lake by moving your body. Feel the amazing strength and coordination as you walk or swim. Put your hands on the parts you have criticized and tell them you are sorry that you thought of them as ornaments for others to judge. Say “Thank you, legs for getting me out to all these beautiful places!”, “I appreciate you, arms, for carrying my groceries!”

You are a magnificent women, right now! Please don’t let any magazine, advertisement or well meaning person tell you otherwise. Start using all that valuable energy to appreciate yourself and do big things in the world, to build your business or love your family or make something beautiful. Take a pledge this day, to stop telling yourself you aren’t good enough. Sing yourself a little song about how lovable and perfect you are.

Got a webcam or video? Send me a youtube video of you taking the pledge to stop telling yourself you are not good enough. We will create a revolution of magnificent women.

Please let me know, by emailing me, if this article was helpful to you!