I'm not beautiful.
This is the part where someone tells me, "Yes you are!" out of kindness. I appreciate the sentiment, but let me explain what I mean. I know that I am not beautiful by conventional standards. I know that my appearance is not what stuns people when they meet me. In my experience, people have told me that they've noticed my wittiness. Or how I'm a good listener. Or that I can write.
I used to want to be beautiful. I used to want people to notice me for being attractive, but I knew that this was not the hand I had been dealt. I have different qualities to offer, different qualities that stand out.
Amy Poehler wrote in her novel "Yes Please," “Decide what your currency is early. Let go of what you will never have. People who do this are happier and sexier.” This quote changed my outlook on life.
We often desire to be the things we're not, and that's normal. It's human nature. We want to make up for the attributes we lack.
But it's time to decide whether we want to focus on becoming something we are not, or whether we are going to work on what we are. We have to decide what we want our currency to be.
Maybe your currency is your beauty. Maybe it's not, just like it's not mine. But I am in control of what defines me. I am in control of what I have to offer others. My currency is my sense of humor. It's my good listening skills. It's my ability to write. It's not my appearance, and I'm okay with that.
Like Poehler said, you are your happiest and your sexiest when you embrace what you've been given. When you work towards improving what makes you unique, others will start to notice what makes you great. People can see right through you when you try to be someone you're not.
Maybe you're a natural teacher. Maybe you're great at playing the piano. Maybe you're really good at making funny faces that make children laugh. Whatever it is, own up to it. These are the qualities that make up your currency. This is what you have to give to others.
Since I've made this realization, I have become happier. I might even say I've become sexier. (Okay, not really, but I've become more comfortable in my own skin.)
When you decide what you want your currency to be, you will start to love yourself even more. You will start to embrace the world with open arms, ready to share what you have to offer.
