Exercise: You are special

Today, I want you to look in the mirror and say to yourself, "I am special!" and then feel what you feel. When you do this, send your inner critics and judges off to a coffee break. Allow yourself to just feel what comes out when you say "I am special." There is no right or wrong emotion, and know that whatever comes out is authentic and will help you see where you're at.

This may sound like a very simple exercise to many of you, but there will be many of you who can't do this, or will have a hard time doing it. Trust me. I know exactly how you feel. The most important person who has to believe you are special is you. Everything really does start with you, and for you to start feeling better about your body and your life, you must first think that you are special and loved (by you). First, you need to find out where you really stand with yourself. You can't heal what you don't know.

Do this exercise until you get to the point where you can look yourself in the eye in the mirror and say "I am special" with happy content and believe it. You can do it!

[picture: "Angel in Mirror Image Land" by Est Bleu2007]