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"I recently had a session with one of my mentors.  She intuitively picked up on something that surprised me.  I mean, it surprised me because...how did she really know?It doesn&#39;t really matter how, what matters is the awareness it brought to my consciousness.  It was a piece of the puzzle of my own healing that I needed to see and begin putting into place.What did she tell me?  She told me that I did not see my real beauty, that I was stuck criticizing my extra pounds and could not see beyond it.  I thought about my self-defeating thoughts as I passed by a mirror or looked away from my smaller clothes every time I walked into my closet.I have come such a long way over the years.  My own transformation is what inspired me to do the coaching that I do.  I have also learned that I still have things that hold me back and I ALWAYS want to be transforming and waking up to my truth. My coaches are like angels from heaven whose messages help me see myself on deeper levels and become aware and awake to what I have not yet seen.  Steven Covey said:  &quot;Self-awareness, conscious, independent will and creative imagination...give us the ultimate human freedom - the power to choose, to respond, to change.”I needed to begin to upgrade the way I see myself.  I needed to let go on a deeper level the belief that any of the outside stuff (my material possessions, my weight, what people think of me, any of my accomplishments) have anything to do with defining my beauty.  The only one who can really teach me about my true beauty is God.  He created me.  The same is true for you.  My mentor gave me the assignment to stand in front of the mirror and really look at myself, and &quot;see&quot; myself.  Well, that&#39;s awkward!  I did it anyway.  I looked into my own eyes and asked God what He sees.  I asked Him to teach me what He sees so that I can let go of allowing the outside &quot;stuff&quot; and my inner criticisms define me.  I have had some sweet moments waking up to how He sees me.  I want to share one of them with you.  I recently joined a gym after a year of taking a break.  Yep, I had some major head talk about that as I dusted off my workout clothes.  I was committed, really committed, and I easily pushed the head talk away.  As soon as I did that, things began to fall into place.  The morning I walked in the building, there was the most happy, sweet, full of light woman at the desk to greet me.  A friend I hadn&#39;t seen in a long time showed up with a big smile and acknowledged me.  She told me about a class that she loved.  It happened to be at the perfect time for me - after my girls were off to school and before my work day began. The trainer took me under her wing.  The workouts have been just perfect for me.  I began to feel my inner thoughts about myself change after just a couple of days.  A new inner strength was beginning to form.  Then, the other day, right in the middle of the workout in my red-faced, sweaty mess, I happened to look up at myself in the mirror, and was so surprised!  I saw myself!  I mean, I REALLY saw myself.  It was as if I wasn&#39;t looking through my own eyes.  I looked more beautiful than I had ever seen myself at my best weight, in my most beautiful clothes, or on the best hair day.  In that moment, I felt love expand my understanding of myself.  It was not about how I &quot;looked;&quot; it was about connecting to how God saw me.  Why did that moment happen at the YMCA in the middle of my Tabata class?  I have no idea.  I guess I was awake enough to notice.  Maybe God is trying to show each of us every day, in every moment, how beautiful we are, how loved we are, and how amazing we are.  What are the gifts of seeing yourself as God sees you?  #1 - Your connection to God becomes REAL and becomes your source of strength. You can love yourself, just because.#2 - Self-defeating, critical thoughts about yourself and others no longer have room in your head.#3 - You can begin to see others through eyes of love; you can forgive easier, love easier, and have more compassion and insight.#4 - You have more inner peace because you are no longer spending time (consciously or unconsciously) looking for outside approval and validation.#5 - You begin to understand your purpose, your message, and how you are meant to bring love and light into the world.#6 - You have a desire to continue transforming and understanding love and healing on deeper and deeper levels.  #7 - Your overall happiness in life skyrockets.  You move through the ups and downs instead of getting stuck.  You support people instead of rescuing them.  You jump into the flow of life and allow good things in all shapes and sizes to come to you.  You have fun teaching others how to do the same.\nSo, take that first good look in the mirror today.  Ask God to teach you about your true beauty, and wake up to some pretty amazing gifts!"
<https://jenpoulson.com/blogs/blog/beauty-is-not-what-you-think>