Then a sense of confidence is born of self-approval. And, you take a long look at yourself in the mirror and you make a promise to give yourself the same unconditional love and support you give so freely to others.

Or a perfect human being for that matter… and you stop trying to compete with the image inside your head or agonizing over how you compare. And, you come to terms with the fact that you will never be a size 5 or a “perfect 10″…. You accept the fact that you are not perfect ,and that not everyone will love appreciate or approve of who or what you are… and that’s OK… they are entitled to their own views and opinions.

And you begin to discard the doctrines you have outgrown, or should never have practiced to begin with. And you begin re-assessing and re- defining who you are and what you really believe in. And you begin to sift through all the nonsense you were taught about : – how you should look and how much you should weigh, – what you should wear and where you should shop, – where you should live or what type of car you should drive, – who you should sleep with and how you should behave, – who you should marry and why you should stay, – the importance of bearing children or what you owe your family, Slowly you begin to open up to new worlds and different points of view. So you begin making your way through the “reality of today” rather than holding out for the “promise of tomorrow.” You realize that much of who you are and the way you navigate through life is, in great part, a result of all the social conditioning you’ve received over the course of a lifetime. Then a sense of serenity is born of acceptance. You come to terms with the fact that there aren’t always fairytale endings (or beginnings for that matter) and that any guarantee of “happily ever after” must begin with you. You realize that it is time to stop hoping and waiting for something or someone to change, or for happiness safety and security to come galloping over the next horizon.

Another word for you understanding