Did you know: only 4% of women globally would use the word beautiful to describe how they look

A measly 4% globally?!? Stats like this really upset me! Why is it that as women, so many of us (yes me too) choose not to value our beauty, and don’t identify with that adjective when describing ourselves.

Although 96% of women don’t choose the word beautiful to describe themselves, 80% of women agree that every woman has something about her that is beautiful – but they often do not see their own beauty ~ Global Dove Research: the Truth About Beauty Revisited (2010)

Over the last week, I’m sure you’ve either watched or have seen friends sharing the new Dove Choose Beautiful video in your Facebook or Twitter feeds. Ladies, if you haven’t watched it yet, take 5 minutes out of your time now, or tomorrow morning while sipping on your coffee, to watch this video.

If you were faced with those same two doors – Average or Beautiful – which one would you choose? After watching the video, if you were faced with those same two doors again, would you choose the same door again? Did you struggle to recognise your own beauty?

Start today by reconsidering your choices and harnessing your personal power. Choose what makes you feel beautiful. Choose it often, and share it with the world.

Dove Choose Beautiful urges you to embrace this choice, and inwardly challenge your tendency to not “choose beautiful”, because when you do, it will unlock happiness and confidence that impacts your self-esteem!

Dove has long been committed to creating a world where beauty is a source of confidence, not anxiety. Dove hopes to inspire you to develop a positive relationship with beauty, because when you recognise the beauty in yourself, you then have a powerful ability to positively impact the next generation.

You have the personal power to feel beautiful every day! Once you’ve chosen beautiful, write down a list of all the things that make you feel beautiful in a small notebook, so that when you have a day where you aren’t feeling particularly beautiful (I often have days where I feel average and not beautiful at all), you can sit quietly and read through the items on the list. This will help you feel empowered again.

If you’d like to follow the Dove Choose Beautiful campaign, follow it on tumblr, Twitter, and Facebook.