I call my inner critic Sally. Sally because she’s like a salamander that slithers in and tells me eeeevvverrrything that’s wrong with me.

When I let sally sneak into my ears I begin to hear her with the words that come out of my mouth. I pick apart how my arms look in photos. I say that I look less toned than last year. I say I need to lose this, fix that, whatever. And that only makes other people feel uncomfortable and it makes me feel small.

So, today I’m reminding all my sisters who may struggle with her own little inner Sally to fight back.

STOP CALLING YOURSELF FAT. Stop asking if those jeans make your butt look big. Stop making pointing out how weird your legs look in that photo. Stop picking your body apart in front of other women — it makes them feel uncomfortable, and often prompts them to wonder if perhaps they, too, should be analyzing how toned their arms are. Stop picking your body apart in front of yourself, too. That is no way to talk to yourself, sister.

If you wouldn’t say it to your friend, do not say it to yourself.

Seriously. Tell yourself to shut your mouth and go USE your body to love the world or help somebody else.

Take care of your body. But please do not for one more second believe that the parts you don’t like somehow make you less valuable than you’d be without them.

Own your worth. Be yourself. Go do something productive and shut your inner Sally up.