An Open Letter to the Amazing Mother Struggling with Low Self-Esteem.
Iāll share a secret with you that only moms can understand. I hope no one elseās reads this but if they are, please keep it to yourself.
Dear mama,
Iāll share a secret with you that only moms can understand. I hope no one elseās reads this but if they are, please keep it to yourself.
There is a superpower that has been living within you since the moment your first child was born.
People commonly refer to it as LOVE but I think it is way more than that. As a mother, Iāve never been able to explain it but Iāll try to paint it in this letter to remind you of how special you are:
- Your mind is so strong that no matter the amount of sleep you had last night, you still show up with a smile every morning and give your best for the love of your child and the people around you.
- You see beauty in the things that you couldnāt before. Only you can turn an insecurity into beauty. Thereās something about seeing that old insecurity of yours in your child that makes you love it.
- Only you can develop a passion out of love for your child. Whether it is cooking, cleaning, teaching, singing, or even working. You are doing it because it results in your childās happiness and that fuels you.
- Only you can make your child happy by simply being alive and happy.
- You are primarily a support for your child but you also become a pillar for the people around you because you have a unique bullshit detector that can tell when something is a priority or a waste of time.
I can go on and on but I hope that you see it just the way I do and you understand how wonderful and fearful you are.
Even if a lot of mothers can relate to this, you are so unique because your superpower was crafted just for you.
You have to trust that you are unique and special in this world and that what you have to offer is so valuable and necessary for our society.
Thereās an African proverb from Ghanaian scholar Dr. James Emmanuel Kwegyir-Aggrey that I love, it goes like this:
āIf you educate a man, you educate an individual, but if you educate a woman, you educate a nationā
I think this is directly attributed to mothers and speaks volumes about our ability to shape the world around us.
If you struggle with low self-esteem and still donāt know this by now, let me tell you once again:
you are essential to this world and without you, society wouldnāt know the true meaning of love.
I hope my words gave you a spark and encouraged you to take action to continue boosting your self-esteem. I write a lot about it, especially from a womanās perspective because I discovered that I am not the only one struggling with low self-esteem. Way more women than I thought do too:
According to a 2022 study by the National Bureau of Economic Research, almost 80% of women have low self-esteem. A 2021 study by The WealthiHer Network found that 79% of women struggle with self-esteem. A 2021 report by The Body Shop found that one in two women worldwide feel more self-doubt than self-love.
If you are one of them, I put together a list of easy things to do to help us out:
- The inevitable reason why we feel insecure and low energy is hormones so this is something I found interesting that can help us:
2. We tend to compare ourselves to others naturally and since thereās not much we can do to prevent social comparisons, this is a healthy way to do it and teach our kids too.
3. Following the topic of social comparisons, if you spend a lot of time on social media, and feel guilty about it, this is the right way to consume content online without feeling about it afterwards.
4. Gratitude journaling saved me from postpartum depression and made me discover a new passion for writing and sharing with my mothersā community. Iāll tell you exactly how to do it and why it can change your life and make you happier.
5. If you are like me and need the science to back things off, then this is a compilation of proven solutions recommended by neuroscientists and psychiatrists.
6. Thereās nothing more motivating than taking action. If you want to feel better about yourself, do something. I tell you more about the importance of being more intentional.
7. Lastly, for the mamas who are still trying to bounce back, donāt be too hard on yourself, this is for you.
If you got through the end of this article, I am deeply grateful to you.
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A couple of months ago I started a sticker shop with words of encouragement for mothers and extended it to the people I love. You will find cute stickers for Motherās Day, Anniversaries, Birthdays, Gender reveal, Baby shower, etc.