YW Individual Worth Personal Progress Activity: Self Esteem Retreat

Ideas for YW Individual Worth Personal Progress Activity: Self-esteem Retreat,

For this activity I really wanted the girls to understand their importance and their individual worth.

To begin the activity, I showed the girls this video:  Dove Real Beauty Sketches | You’re more beautiful than you think

We discussed how we often are our own worst critics! We pick ourselves apart, when others often see us in a much better light. Discuss how each of us are uniquely and beautifully created by a loving Heavenly Father. The world tries to define our worth by beauty. But our worth is not defined by beauty. We are of great worth, just because we are Daughters of God. 

We also showed this video: Our True Identity

Explain that our worth never changes. That it is infinite and eternal. Our worth was so great that our Heavenly Father sent down his only begotten son to suffer, atone and die for each of us. He has given each of us special and unique gifts, talents and abilities. 

Invite the Young Women to read the first part of the Young Women Theme,

"We are daughters of our Heavenly Father, who loves us and we love him"

Who are you??  You are a daughter of Heavenly Father. He knows you and loves you!

You can give each of the young women the Individual Worth Packet, to help them journal during the activity. Click the Free Download below.

Work on Personal Progress Individual Worth Experience 1:

"You are a daughter of Heavenly Father, who knows you and loves you. Read Psalm 8:4–6; Jeremiah 1:5; John 13:34; Doctrine and Covenants 18:10; Abraham 3:22–23; and Joseph Smith—History 1:1–20. Write in your journal how these scriptures teach you that Heavenly Father knows you, loves you, and is mindful of you."

Give each of the young women a legal size piece of paper. Invite them to write in the middle of the paper the words, "I Am..."  Explain that you would like them to think of things that explain them. They could only be positive things. Have them write those things on their piece of paper.

When they are finished explain that you would like them to stand in front of the rest of the girls and tell everyone those things.  They will begin by saying "I am"  I told my girls to "to say it like the believe it". I went first and with conviction said the things that I had written down.  This activity was really great! Each girl stood up there and I could see their confidence grow as they said wonderful things about themselves.

We explained that recognizing strengths in ourselves does not make us prideful. Because we understand that all of these strengths are because we have a loving Heavenly Father.

Explain that as a daughter of God it is good to recognize the strengths of others. Work on Personal Progress Individual Worth Experience 3 (Part of this will be fulfilled in the Chalkboard activity below):

"Read Doctrine and Covenants 18:10 and 121:45. Do all you can to build others and make them feel of worth. Every day for two weeks notice the worthwhile qualities and attributes of others. Acknowledge them verbally or in writing. In your journal write what you have learned about the worth of individuals and how your own confidence grows when you build others."

The next thing we did was each young women took turns standing in front of the chalkboard and all of the other young women wrote amazing things about them. When everyone was done writing, I took the picture.  We actually had three chalkboards going, because we have so many girls it was going to take all night :) I later printed the pictures and gave them to the girls. They loved this activity.

Really, this whole activity was just a big feel good activity!! I think that the goal of helping them understand their individual worth and build their self-esteem was accomplished.

The Young Women were encouraged to go home and work on the rest of the Individual Worth Experiences. With experience 7 they could write in their journal some of the things, their fellow Young Women had written about them.

We closed the activity by asking the young women how they felt as the recognized their own strengths and were able to say them out loud? Then asked them how it felt as they were able to recognize strengths in others and be able to write them? And finally how it felt to read all of the strengths that others recognized in them. Then I shared my testimony of each of our individual worth. 

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