How Confidence and Beauty Intertwine

• When a woman believes she looks beautiful, she feels confident.
• When a woman is confident, she radiates beauty.

It really doesn’t matter which style she is nor how tall, slim or old she is. The color of her eyes, hair or skin do not change the fact, nor does her nationality, upbringing or experiences in life.

A woman’s beauty is far more about what she believes than what she wears.

• A young, buff, high-fashioned, fully-serviced diva who is mean and rude is not beautiful at all.
• An old, wrinkled, out of shape, compassionate woman of wisdom is absolutely lovely.
• A supermodel who hates herself is not beautiful.
• An abused and neglected woman with strength and hope is stunning and inspiring.

I’ve spent 30 years teaching women and girls how to accentuate their beauty–that’s easy. Guiding her through Image Issues is not–mostly because it is so rare that she wants to deal with the mirror and the soul at the same time.

• A girl who feels ugly, unwanted, invisible and inadequate may strive to perfect her image, or she may loose all confidence of ever being beautiful.
• A girl who feels her image is her worth may strive to keep her confidence with beauty which is never satisfied and constantly changing. Or she may hate the attention she attracts and the pain beauty causes.

These women either love me (as an image coach) or avoid me because beauty can be a painful and embarrassing topic.

It takes a brave and mature woman to consider how inner and outer beauty intertwine. Because of the embarrassment factor, too many girls never admit there is a Beauty Battle going on in their soul and so they never actually fight for their confidence; they just find a way to cope. Some may HATE their beauty and hurt themselves, some may get HUNG UP on their appearance and strive to look beautiful, others may simply HIDE their bodies or their feelings as a way to avoid all the judgments and mistreatments that they have endured. Any one of these coping methods may look like a disorder, addiction, or obsession. It may show up in a relationship, medical, mental or financial problem or you may see it as physical scars, piercings and tattoos, but when you get to the heart of it, it is an Image Issue.

To be a Confident Beauty, you must Know Who You Are  

Girls who will not enter into the Beauty Battle, will never truly know themselves. Beauty is the very essence of who you are. avoiding the topic does not make it go away.  We should not be embarrassed by our desire to look lovely. Men may struggle to be strong, but it doesn’t embarrass them. Yet because women are often condemned for going after beauty, may of them deny there is a struggle at all.

You know you are a woman of Confident Beauty when you can look in the mirror and think:

• It is natural and acceptable to want to be beautiful.
• Others have the right to be beautiful too!
• It’s okay to have imperfections; everyone does.
• My weaknesses do not define me; they keep me humble and give me character.
• My beauty does not define me, but it does have at the power to draw others to me… or push them away. My choice.
• I am unique and should not strive to be like someone else.
• My personality defines my image; staying true to myself is authenticity.
• Being authentic, inside and out, is what attracts others and creates confidence.
• I know and appreciate who I am. I enjoy taking care of myself and sharing my true self with others. I do this by accentuating my assets in the morning and then thinking about others for the rest of the day.

If you are ready to enter into the Beauty Battle and fight for your true identity, I encourage you to stay tuned for the next six weeks as I unveil the beauty of each Image Identity (Img.ID).

How you see the Beauty Battle is a big indicator of your Img.ID:

C: Private, personal (The Classic tends to make it no big deal)

N: Vain, embarrassing (To the Natural tends to hate the topic)

D: Real, strong (The Dramatic tends to get hung up in the struggle)

I: Painful, private (The Ingénue tends to blame, punish herself)

R: Painful, powerful (The Romantic tends to hide her beauty because of hurts)

G: Real, but ridiculous (The Gamine tends to fight for herself and others) 

Click the letter to learn more about that Image Identity, including What2Wear.

*****

As an author and speaker, Catrina’s passion is in helping women and girls overcome confidence conflicts, especially those involving rejection, betrayal and loss. After 30 years in the beauty industry as both a cosmetologist and an image consultant, Catrina now uses her profession, her own powerful stories and her training as a Biblical life-coach to reach the heart in a way that is relatable, encouraging and inspiring. Her message is balanced with both fashion and faith and is making a difference  in the lives of women and girls all over!  To be part of this movement, connect with her on Facebook, Twitter,  Pinterest, Linked In, Goodreads  and consider having her speak at your next event. Visit https://catrinawelch.com for more information.