Regardless of your age, gender, or location, insecurities are inevitable. They are an unfortunate characteristic of growing up, whether they last for a short amount of time or stay around to haunt us. The fact of the matter is that insecurities are ultimately what make us beautiful, as long as we allow them to.
Whether it involves overall fitness or simply fashion styles, people tend to feel they lack in character when they feel inferior in those aspects. For instance, when someone gets the sense that they need to look or dress more like someone that is thinner and more stylish, they can develop a mindset that causes them to think that they are less of a person. Even if it is just to a small degree of thinking "I wish I was better in that way because then I would be a better person overall," people naturally think less of themselves when they feel they are inferior to someone else.
The problem is not that you are less of a person because of the way someone else lives their life, the problem is that you think something as temporary as a body or a piece of clothing has the power to devalue you. A typical mindset is "Look Good, Feel Good;" however, that statement automatically sets you up for failure. If you base the outcome of your mindset and attitude on the way you look, you will never be as content as you intend to be.
Spending abundant amounts of time and money on looking good in the eyes of other people is a great method if you want to end up more insecure than when you started. You can look as nice and as "flawless" as you wish, but if you do not contain any inner beauty and substance then you will not do yourself justice. The opinions of other people are not what define you. Your worth is not based on the way you contour your makeup or the clothing you choose to wear.
At one of Liberty University's Convocations, Rich Wilkerson Jr. pointed out that you are worth Jesus to God in that God saw all your flaws, all your mistakes and your ugly habits, and He paid Jesus as your debt. If the fact that you are worth Jesus to God is not enough to help you through your insecurities, then nothing ever will. Notice how I said "help you through," not "immediately overcome." Overcoming negative thoughts and mindsets is not usually something that can be done overnight, and no one expects you to. Overcoming insecurities and feelings of worthlessness is a process that takes active intentions and constant work.
If people look at you and make you feel worthless, then they are not the people you need to surround yourself with. God values you, and honestly, His is the only opinion that truly matters. You are beautiful, respected, worthy, and amazing. Don't let anyone tell you differently.
