Operation Beautiful (And A Giveaway!)
I am near obsessed with Post-It Notes.
Seriously. They are quite possibly my favorite office supply (if one is able to have an actual “favorite office supply?!)
Post-It Notes, for those of you living deep within the caverns of the Earth under rocks, are little 3″ x 3″ squares that have a thin slightly adhesive film along the back that allow you to jot clarifying details and leave little reminders for yourself.
Post-It Notes are only a small piece, but as the mission of the Operation Beautiful states, it really IS that simple. All you need is a piece of paper and a pen.
The project started simply enough for Caitlin Boyle. After too many years of being “her own worst enemy” Caitlin decided that things needed to change. In her teens she used pain to release the feelings of depression and angst. In the youngest parts of her adulthood it was ”calorie counting” and mentally berating herself. A few years later, overwhelmed by stress and anxiousness and general unhappiness, the negativity again reared it’s ugly head.
It all caused her to dislike and even hate parts of herself that she couldn’t see in the mirror.
I too, suffer from an impossible quest for perfection. And I too, have used all the techniques Caitlin did (and some others) in an attempt to punish myself for never being able to attain it. I carry the scars on my arms as constant reminders that my best never seemed to be good enough. That, in my mind, boys didn’t flirt with me or want to be in relationships with me because I wasn’t pretty and skinny and worthwhile. That I was always the frumpy throwaway sidekick to my beautiful and accomplished girl-friends, and didn’t deserve anything better for myself.
It isn’t about how you look when you peer in a mirror or judge yourself against the magazine images. The project is NOT a call to action for feminism or girl power or cause-activism. As I read through Caitlin’s published manifestation of Operation Beautiful, I was overwhelmed with the message the book had to share:
Operation Beautiful is about who you are as a person. It is about celebrating your unique personality, loving yourself fully, and letting go of any negativity that weighs you down…Operation Beautiful is about one simple truth: You are beautiful…just the way you are!
Each chapter (Fat Talk, Family and Friends, Fitness, Food, Faith, and Going Forward) contains not only pieces of advice and Caitlin’s thoughts on the subject, but also Post-It notes and shared thoughts from readers across the globe. Operation Beautiful started because one day, as Caitlin Boyle stood in front of a mirror in a public restroom, she realized that there were probably other people in the world who needed to hear one very important message: “YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL!“ She knew, because it was the mantra she had been desperately seeking for herself.
Since that day, Operation Beautiful has been a movement that has spread globally. A way for people to encourage others by paying-it-foward and leaving their own messages to be found in public location. But like so many things, by doing something to uplift others, the messages are just as important to the person leaving them as the person finding them.
Contest Announcement!
I asked the folks at Gotham Books if they would also send me a second copy of Operation Beautiful to give to a lucky reader and they were more than happy to oblige!
Leave a comment below with a short note (the length you’d be able to fit on a Post-It) that you wish you could leave on someone’s mirror.
CONTEST IS CLOSED! Winner is EricaLeeXO, as chosen by Random.org.
Her Post It reads: “Smile. Breathe. Slow down. You’re doing an amazing job.”
We all need more beautiful in our lives, so why not start with a Post-It?!
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