You are not your body. You are not a sex object. You are a limitless spirit residing in a body. Treat it as you would anything sacred. The ability to have sex is the lowest common denominator of human achievement. It’s right after breathing. Your most valuable characteristics are those that, in combination, are unique to you. Use your body to fulfill your purpose, not to get attention.
Your beauty is in your differences, not your similarities. The goal is not to be a uniform product for someone to pick off a shelf. Resist conformity. Don’t subscribe to any beauty standard that requires you to be a clone. Extreme alterations to the way you look communicate insecurity, not confidence. Nothing is more attractive than your rare spirit.
The quality of your life depends on your ability to recognize a lie. Do not be naive when it comes to advertisers, bureaucrats, or anyone else who lies to you for profit or advantage. Learn discernment. Stand on your own side, no matter the cost. You’ll recognize the truth by the feeling of safety and security it gives you.
Remove the word picture from your vocabulary. To say “picture” is to tell your brain you’re seeing someone as they were at the time of the shot. No such thing exists anywhere on the internet. If you don’t know that internet images distort reality, you will try to replicate them. In doing so, you will destroy yourself.
Don’t spend time wondering what is wrong with you. Nothing is wrong with you. Think instead about what is possible for you. Include anything that was possible for anyone in human history. Also, include anything that is possible because God put the idea of it in your heart and mind.
Never ignore or rationalize an instinct telling you something isn’t right. Don’t mistake normality for safety. If you don’t feel safe, do whatever is necessary to make yourself safe. It does not matter what anyone thinks. Feel free to walk out, ruin the day, and overreact.
Don’t project good intentions onto anyone before they show you who they are in their actions. A superficial veneer of charm is not empathy. Without empathy, your heart is in danger. A no-fail, 60-second test of relationship depth is to tell a person your car broke down and let them respond. The response will tell you what you need to know.
Money destroys far more people than it helps. Don’t put your faith in it. But it does give you choices. Women who can support themselves are more likely to leave abusive relationships. Having financial resources equal to your needs allows you to be patient. You can wait for the right partner rather than the one who is available. Start contributing to a 401K as soon as you can. Your tiny deposits will turn into freedom.
Grow. At all costs and by all means, grow. If you are to inspire the world, you need to inspire yourself. Build your character by challenging yourself with books, service, and goals. Find out what motivates your spirit. Develop your ability to consider a variety of philosophies. Have your own ideas. Think for yourself. Don’t let anyone tell you who you are or what you’re worth. Disregard anything anyone says to diminish your belief in yourself. Respond to self-doubt with trust in your instincts. Don’t play small.
Don’t lose your ability to hear the voice inside you. Don’t let your relationship with the internet be the only energy exchange in your life. If it is, that dependence will create decades of depression and anxiety. Do whatever it takes to separate yourself daily from technology. Make sure you can still hear your inner voice and recognize your motivations as your own. If you want to feel the heartbeat of real life, you will find it in genuine people, nature, art, and challenge.
The most important investment of your life will be in your relationships. Make sure they are reciprocal and not jealous. The love and trust you exchange with your friends, family, and God will insulate you. Throughout your life, they will heal, nurture, and love you. They will stand you up.
Experiencing a higher power is more important than the word you use to describe it. The world’s religions and spiritual practices provide many options. Find one that is right for you.
Your choices determine your fate. Your mistakes are your guardrails. They are not final. You’ll recognize what is good for you by the peace and self-esteem it brings you. Don’t repeat choices that make you feel bad about yourself. Never take the advice of anyone who mistreats you.
Motivation comes after action. If you wait for motivation, you will never do anything. Make the moves, take the small steps, and be bold. Do more than you think you can. Be willing to practice in public.
Give more attention than you seek. Meaning, not adoration, is the grand prize of life. You get to meaning through service. You get to service through a passion for people and animals. When you serve your soul, you contribute to something bigger than yourself. In doing so, you live beyond your time on earth.
You are not running out of time. Desperate decisions guarantee the losses you’re trying to avoid. Life is about managing your emotions and maintaining faith. Do not let despair and hopelessness take hold of you. Make a habit of gratitude.
The past is irrelevant. It has no bearing on your future possibilities. Women have overcome every imaginable circumstance and upbringing. Find role models. Anything they can do, you can do. Work ethic and faith will take you anywhere you want to go.
When you wake up every day, tell yourself that you love yourself. It doesn’t matter if you believe it. It only matters that you say it. Communicating love to yourself becomes actual love in time. Don’t take any action that compromises that love.
This culture has laid significant challenges at your feet. You are under extreme pressure to be an object and waste your entire life scrolling and buying. Freeing yourselves will take a mass revolt. You are up to it. True individuality rejects cheap thrills and empty promises. Ruthlessly limit the access the internet and its advertisers have to your heart and soul. Rebel against a fraudulent culture rather than yourself.
Song Accompaniment: Alicia Keys, Girl on Fire
Artwork: The Art of Seth