Bright Futures for Womens Health

Young women are busy! Think about it: You might be a friend, a student, a daughter, a sister, a teammate, an artist, a musician, a writer, an athlete, and many other things!

That's why it's important to take some time every day to appreciate yourself. It's fun, it's easy, and it will help you do better in all your different roles.

Appreciating yourself includes things such as focusing on what you do well, getting enough sleep, and eating right. This section of the guide talks about all the ways you can learn to appreciate yourself:

Becky's story: "When I hang out with my friends, one of the things we like to do is talk about what we like about one another, even silly stuff like who is great at fixing hair or who has good taste in music. It makes me feel really good, and we usually end up laughing together!"

Build your self-respect

Respect is important. All young women want to be respected. But have you ever thought about whether you are respecting yourself? This means taking care of yourself in four different ways:

This guide can help you learn how to respect the most important person in your life — you!

Build your self-confidence

Young women who are confident are able to try new things. They know they can deal with problems. You can become more confident by setting goals that make sense, thinking positively, and being prepared.

Here are some more tips to increase your self-confidence:

Stop comparing: Your abilities and talents are unique – special. Decide what success means for you and don't worry about what success means for anyone else.
Remember your good deeds: Remember that time you shared your lunch with a friend who forgot hers? Or that time you made your best friend a cake on her birthday? You do lots of great things for other people every day. Appreciate yourself.
Forgive yourself and learn from your mistakes: Everyone makes mistakes once in a while. Learn from them and move on. You're not the only young woman who ever left her homework on the kitchen table! Just don't be the one who does that every week.

Build your self-esteem

A young woman with a healthy self-esteem knows what makes her unique and values those things. Self-esteem helps you feel good about yourself, no matter what other people think of you.

Here are some tips to help you boost your self-esteem:

Accept your strengths and your weaknesses: No one is perfect, not even the most popular person you know. Your strengths and weaknesses are what make you special.
Congratulate yourself and be nice to yourself and others: Honor your achievements, big and small. Be your own biggest fan. Let others know what you like about them.
Value yourself: Friends and family are great, but don't depend on others to make you feel good about yourself. Value yourself no matter what other people say about you.
Surround yourself with positive people: Choose friends who value you. Try to ignore people who make negative comments.
Praise yourself: Remember one good thing about yourself every day.
Do good things: Do at least one thing that you feel good about every day.

Set your own goals and self-expectations

Many young women let others tell them what they should be doing and how to do it. To be emotionally well, you need to judge yourself by your own standards and no one else's.

These tips can help you set standards for yourself:

Define beauty for yourself: Images of thin, cute young women are everywhere. Most young women do not look that way. True beauty comes from inside and shines outward. Focus on the things about yourself that you think are beautiful.
Define your own values: Many young women try to live by the values held by their friends or popular teens or young women they see on TV. The only values you need to live up to are your own. Think about what they are and stick to them.
Focus on your strengths: We all have strengths and weaknesses, but many of us focus more on our weaknesses. Try this instead. Every time you think about one of your weaknesses, think about one of your strengths, too.

Take care of your body

Most young women know that eating well and being active can make you fit. Did you know that taking good care of yourself can help your emotional health as well? Physical activity, healthy eating, and getting enough sleep can improve your mood! Pretty great, huh?

To learn more about physical activity and healthy eating, read "My Bright Future: Physical Activity and Healthy Eating Tools for Young Women." You can download a free copy at www.hrsa.gov/womenshealth.

You don't have to make a lot of big changes. Start with small steps:

Healthy eating habits: Decide on just one thing you would like to do to eat healthier. Keep doing it until it becomes a habit. Then try to form another good eating habit. (If you aren't sure what healthy eating means, here is one definition: Healthy eating means eating a variety of nutrient-dense foods and beverages within and among the basic food groups, while choosing foods that limit your intake of saturated and trans fats, cholesterol, and added sugars or salt.)
Physical activity: Add a few minutes of walking or some other form of exercise to your day. Keep adding minutes until you've reached your goal. (One goal is to aim for at least 60 minutes of walking or other moderate physical activity on most days of the week.)
Set an earlier bedtime: Go to bed 10 minutes earlier than usual. Keep doing it until you've reached your goal. (Most young women need about eight hours of sleep a night.)
Develop good sleep habits: Once you've found the right bedtime, try to go to bed at about the same time every night. Try not to eat, drink caffeinated beverages, or exercise right before bed.

Imagine how doing just one of these small steps on a regular basis can add up at the end of a month!

Think positively

Positive thinking actually helps you deal with your problems! No one can think positively all the time, but every young woman can learn how to feel more optimistic.

Here are some tips:

Look for the positive: When things go wrong, think of something good about the situation. Suppose a friend cancels your plans. Look at it as more time to do something for yourself like reading a book, calling another friend, or watching a movie.
Focus on the good things: Even when something has upset you in one part of your life, you can still focus on the things you value in other areas.

Padma's story: "My mom has this rule that I used to think was really lame, but now I kind of like it. Every month, we all have to spend a few hours doing something good for someone else. Sometimes, we all do the same thing and sometimes everyone picks something different. Like this month, I helped my neighbor weed her garden. We had a great time, and it does feel kind of nice to help someone else."

Make time for activities you enjoy and that have meaning for you

You'd be surprised at how much happier you are when you are doing something that has meaning for you.

Here are some tips on how to get started:

Find activities that are important to you: Spend your time on things you care about, not things someone else thinks you should do. You will be more committed to them and enjoy them more!
Start a club: If there's no group at your school working on the issues you care about, talk to a teacher to find out how to start one. It can give you experience and skills, which will help you find a job when you finish high school or apply to a college or a trade school.
Do things with your friends: Make meaningful activities part of what you do when you hang out with your friends.
Schedule it in: Even busy young women can find time to take part in activities they enjoy and that have meaning to them. Practice scheduling your time now. It will also help to prepare you for later on when you have a job or if you continue your education.

Learn skills that help you cope with difficult emotions and situations

Coping is the way we deal with problems and stress. It's part of life to be stressed sometimes, but knowing how to cope will help you get through the tough times.

Here are some suggestions to help you cope:

Express yourself: Write your feelings in a journal, sing along with your favorite song, act out a scene from a movie, or find some other way to express your feelings.
Take care of yourself: Get plenty of rest. Eat healthy foods and be physically active. Don't do anything out of the ordinary. Instead, try to find comfort in your usual routines.
Stay connected to others and tell them how you are doing: When you're stressed out, you need other people. Find someone you trust to talk to, call, e-mail, text message, or IM.
Ask for help: If you feel overwhelmed, ask friends, parents, a school counselor, a teacher, a pastor, rabbi or other faith-based advisor, or your health care provider for advice or help. Being strong means knowing when to seek help. Everyone needs help from time to time.

Quiz: Are you an optimist?

Optimists see the sunny side of things. Are you an optimist? Take this quiz to find out.

Scoring:

0-5 The clouds are out!
You are more of a negative thinker than an optimist. Sometimes, just thinking that things will go well seems to make them go well! If you have confidence in yourself, it can have an amazing effect on the way you think. Try to think more positively. And look up – the sun is about to come out!

6-10 Break out the sunglasses!
You think like an optimist! Keep it up. Having a positive attitude can actually make things go well. People probably love being around you because of your positive attitude and confidence. You are a ray of sunshine!

Activities to help you appreciate yourself

Here are some short exercises you and your friends can try to help you learn to appreciate yourself!