Loving Yourself Can Change Your World...

A few weeks ago I got my braces off!! Finally! Man what a long road that was. It was only supposed to be 18-24 months but it ended up being 34 months.

All of that was totally worth it to have the smile I have now! I couldn't imagine how wonderful the results would be.

The braces never really bothered me. I still smiled and laughed with my usual grin. I always felt self conscious about having food in my teeth or having bad breath though. On a hygiene level they bothered my but in a confidence level; I seemed to have always felt fine. I made jokes that I looked like a dork but in reality I knew I was doing something great for my teeth and my smile. My smile will last me my life and is what invites people towards you.

Something I have noticed since I have had them taken off is a sense of confidence in my ability to smile whenever I wanted too. I feel more myself, more open. I don't have to worry about smiling anymore and having food in my teeth. I feel more comfortable in my own skin. For the last 2 years, I have been noticing myself receding a little bit and going into a shell in front of people I don't know that well and even people I do know. I didn't think the braces bothered me but maybe they did? Or maybe I was just always worried about offending people with food in my teeth? I felt people pulling back from me as I pulled back from them. I always had to worry about something with my smile so I felt like I couldn't open up and be the real me.

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I am not sure what it was but things have changed for me since I have got my braces off. I can comfortably talk to anyone; stranger or acquaintances. I feel like I can let the real me shine though. I can be myself again. When the real me shines though, I notice I am better received by others. It feels really good. As much as I thought the braces didn't bother me, maybe on a subconscious level and embarrassment about hygiene, I felt I couldn't get close to people. I felt like I just wasn't myself at all times.

So it got me thinking about being confident with whom you are and about what it feels like to not have to worry about being who you are in your own skin. I am not necessarily concerned about what kind of clothing you wear or what the image in the mirror looks like or how well your make up is applied. I am talking about a feeling of being comfortable with who you are.

Have you have had a great haircut? You leave the salon and your hair is shiny and soft and bouncy and just sparkles? You feel really good about yourself right? Maybe it’s not just a haircut. How about a nice pair of jeans? Or after a really great workout that you feel really proud of? You feel taller, stronger, leaner, and more powerful? How about a job promotion or discovering what you really want to do with your life? What about one of those days when everything is just falling into place and your entire to-do list is complete? Anything that makes you feel really good. Think about a time you felt like this. Now think about how you were received by people in your life? Co-workers. Your dry cleaner. The grocery store checkout gal. The bank teller. Your spouse. Your friends? Do you notice a difference about how you’re treated when you feel really good?

My personal experience from this is that I am treated better by people in my life when I feel good and am genuinely being my true self. When I am feeling open and confident, happy to be alive, present in the current moments of what life has to offer, people are more drawn to me. You may think that something superficial, like getting my braces off, improving my personal image, would make me feel this way. And you’re right. It is superficial but as life is a journey, with many lessons to learn, I am taking something valuable from this experience. Will the "euphoric braces coming off" feeling last forever? No. Will the lesson I learned from this experience last forever? Yes.

No matter what you look like. No matter the job you have. No matter how much money you make or what clothing you have, a key to happy life is to believe in yourself. Be genuine. Feel happy with who you are. Inside, outside, everywhere. If you don't like what you look like...change it with a new haircut, lipstick or better skin care regime...or better yet...accept it. Like I have said before, it could always be worse.

If you have a day where you don't necessarily feel so great about yourself, can you bring up a memory of when you did feel good? Try to carry that through your day and see if it helps lift your mood. Change your perspective.

You have heard the saying, "you can never love someone until you love yourself" right? I have never believed it more than I have before. I am feeling confident with whom I am lately and I am noticing I am being so well received by the world around me. Whether this has anything to do with the braces coming off or not, I am not sure but I am going to continue to continue to feel good about whom I am as a whole. I encourage everyone to do the same and watch how to world changes around you.

Genuine Smile!!

Namaste xo.