27 Quotes From Famous, Powerful Women On How They Learned To Love Themselves
By Kim Quindlen
Tina Fey
1. “Do your thing and don’t care if they like it.”
2. “If you retain nothing else, always remember the most important rule of beauty, which is: who cares?”
3. “So, my unsolicited advice to women in the workplace is this. When faced with sexism, or ageism, or lookism, or even really aggressive Buddhism, ask yourself the following question: “Is this person in between me and what I want to do?” If the answer is no, ignore it and move on. Your energy is better used doing your work and outpacing people that way. Then, when you’re in charge, don’t hire the people who were jerky to you.”
America Ferreira
4. “How much time have I wasted on diets and what I look like? Take your time and your talent and figure out what you have to contribute to this world. And get over what the hell your butt looks like in those jeans!”
Oprah Winfrey
5. “I’ve come to believe that each of us has a personal calling that’s as unique as a fingerprint – and that the best way to succeed is to discover what you love and then find a way to offer it to others in the form of service, working hard, and also allowing the energy of the universe to lead you.”
6. “Self-esteem comes from being able to define the world in your own terms and refusing to abide by the judgments of others.”
Kelly Clarkson
7. “Whether I put on weight or take it off, someone’s got something to say, so what I’ve figured is this: As long as I’m healthy and happy, cool. I’m just me — take it or leave it. And personally, I think I’m looking good!”
Beyoncé Knowles
8. “When you love and accept yourself, when you know who really cares about you, and when you learn from your mistakes, then you stop caring about what people who don’t know you think.”
9. “We all have our imperfections. But I’m human, and you know, it’s important to concentrate on other qualities besides outer beauty.”
Iyanla Vanzant
10. “Acceptance means that you know, regardless of what happened, that there is something bigger than you at work. It also means you know that you are okay and that you will continue to be okay.”
J. K. Rowling
11. “It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default.”
12. “I’ve got two daughters who will have to make their way in this skinny-obsessed world, and it worries me, because I don’t want them to be empty-headed, self-obsessed, emaciated clones; I’d rather they were independent, interesting, idealistic, kind, opinionated, original, funny – a thousand things, before ‘thin’. And frankly, I’d rather they didn’t give a gust of stinking chihuahua flatulence whether the woman standing next to them has fleshier knees than they do. Let my girls be Hermiones, rather than Pansy Parkinsons. Let them never be Stupid Girls.”
Amy Schumer
13. “I’m not a traffic-stopping model or the smartest person in the room. The more you get to know me, the prettier I become. In my act, I have a joke: ‘I know what I look like. You’d bang me, but you wouldn’t blog about it.’ My real beauty lies in my humor, my strength, the kind of sister, daughter, and friend I am. But more than anything, it lies in my ability to truly not give a shit what anyone thinks of me. Because I know what I think. The other night onstage, after I said a joke about how I’m superstitious and constantly knocking on wood, which is really embarrassing, especially if you don’t know the guy, an audience member yelled out, ‘Whore!’ I fired right back with ‘Why are you saying that like it’s a bad thing?’ I win.”
14. “I still stand in front of that mirror sometimes with doubts. But even on my worst day when I’m feeling awful, I smile and say, “You’re doing the best you can. Good job, bitch!”
Kerry Washington
15. “I don’t have to be perfect. All I have to do is show up and enjoy the messy, imperfect, and beautiful journey of my life.”
Brene Brown
16. “The truth is: Belonging starts with self-acceptance. Your level of belonging, in fact, can never be greater than your level of self-acceptance, because believing that you’re enough is what gives you the courage to be authentic, vulnerable and imperfect.”
17. “I spent a lot of years trying to outrun or outsmart vulnerability by making things certain and definite, black and white, good and bad. My inability to lean into the discomfort of vulnerability limited the fullness of those important experiences that are wrought with uncertainty: Love, belonging, trust, joy, and creativity to name a few.”
18. “What’s the greater risk? Letting go of what people think – or letting go of how I feel, what I believe, and who I am?”
Rihanna
19. “You shouldn’t be pressured into trying to be thin by the fashion industry, because they only want models that are like human mannequins…But you have to remember that it’s not practical or possible for an everyday woman to look like that. Being size zero is a career in itself so we shouldn’t try and be like them. It’s not realistic and it’s not healthy.”
Amy Poehler
20. “Decide what your currency is early. Let go of what you will never have. People who do this are happier and sexier.”
21. “Looking silly can be ver powerful. People who are committing and taking risks become the king and queen of my prom. People are their most beautiful when they are laughing, crying, dancing, playing, telling the truth, and being chased in a fun way.”
Michelle Obama
22. “One of the lessons that I grew up with was to always stay true to yourself and never let what somebody else says distract you from your goals. And so when I hear about negative and false attacks, I really don’t invest any energy in them, because I know who I am.”
Jennifer Lawrence
23. “I’m never going to starve myself for a part… I don’t want little girls to be like, ‘Oh, I want to look like Katniss, so I’m going to skip dinner.’ That’s something I was really conscious of during training, when you’re trying to get your body to look exactly right. I was trying to get my body to look fit and strong — not thin and underfed.”
Mindy Kaling
24. “There’s a whole list of things I would probably change about myself. For example, I’m always trying to lose 15 pounds. But I never need to be skinny. I don’t want to be skinny. I’m constantly in a state of self-improvement.”
Sheryl Sandberg
25. “We hold ourselves back in ways both big and small, by lacking self-confidence, by not raising our hands, and by pulling back when we should be leaning in.”
Ellen DeGeneres
26. “Find out who you are and be that person. That’s what your soul was put on this Earth to be. Find that truth, live that truth and everything else will come.”
27. “It’s our challenges and obstacles that give us layers of depth and make us interesting. Are they fun when they happen? No. But they are what make us unique. And that’s what I know for sure… I think.”