Believe in Yourself – You are “Beautiful”

This post is not about external appearances.  This post is inspired by a recent show I saw onVH1 called Storytellers: Christina Aguilera.  It’s in a format where a music artist sings to a small group, and talks to the group about herself, her music, and her inspirations.  Christina’s story about her song “Beautiful” really caught my attention.

The piano player accompanying Christina on the show is Linda Perry, the writer of “Beautiful.”  Linda explains that while she may be a successful rock singer and a famous song writer to others, she also gets insecure about herself and her talent.  She wrote this song in order to inspire herself and others to believe in yourself, no matter what people say.

Christina chose to sing the song, and was able to record it in one take, because the lyrics really spoke to her.  As successful as she is, Christina also gets insecure at times.  She said these lyrics about believing in yourself seem to be written for her.  She wants to inspire her listeners as well – “Believe in yourself, no matter what people say.”  Here are some of the lyrics:

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

I am inspired by this story, because no matter what we are – tall, short, male, female, rich, poor, successful or not, good looking or not, we are all human – we can all get insecure at times.    It is what we do to deal with these low times that makes a difference.  Like Linda and Christina,  I choose to say “I am beautiful, no matter what they say – words can’t bring me down.”  I choose to believe in myself and my ability to overcome.  What about you?

Can you choose to believe in yourself?  That’s the first step in overcoming any obstacle in life and work.  Believing in yourself is a choice you can make any time.  Don’t let careless, scathing words from other people affect you.  No one is perfect.  As you face your job search, career development, or life challenges, you will also feel insecure at times – what will you choose to say?  I hope this song will inspire you to believe in yourself and look at life with hope and confidence.

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Best wishes in your career.  I am always in your corner.

– Lei