You've probably seen the previews for Precious, the Oprah-endorsed film that stars newcomer Gabourey ("Gabby") Sidibe as the title character. Some of you may have even seen the film already. Last week, Gabby sat down with Oprah to promote the film, and the discussion turned to Gabby's weight and body image. Oprah, who mentioned lamenting over her own weight for years, asked where Gabby got such confidence. "You walk into a room, obviously not a size 2 or a 12, but have such great confidence about it that it doesn't seem to bother you at all." "It's something I've had to work at," Gabby said. "I've never been a small girl. One day I had to sit down with myself and decide that I loved myself no matter what my body looked like and what other people thought about my body." Now 26, she was about 21 or 22 when she made this crucial decision, she told Oprah. "I got tired of feeling bad all the time. I got tired of hating myself. And so I really had to have a conversation with myself and find what I loved about myself." She started her first diet at age 6, and now she's unabashedly dancing her way onto "Ellen." (See clip below or click here.) I applaud Gabby for choosing love instead of hate or self-loathing. That makes her an excellent example for women and men since we all need to work on accepting ourselves, regardless of how much we weigh or how we look. It's not something that suddenly happens when you lose the weight or reach a specific goal. You do need to make a conscious effort to talk to yourself like a friend and treat yourself with respect. Sometimes it can be difficult to find a single thing that you like about yourself, but we all have something that makes us special. When you choose to love yourself, you are more likely to take good care of yourself and to behave more confidently, which in turn could open so many doors in your life, just like it has for Gabby who was virtually unknown until making this film. Do you admire Gabby's self-confidence? Have you experienced a turning point when you decided to stop beating yourself up and start seeing yourself as the amazing person that you are? |
More From SparkPeople
|
