An editorial in my local newspaper recently touted the health benefits of looking on the bright side. It cited a 10-year study of Canadian adults, which found that "having a positive outlook on life can reduce your risk of heart disease and heart attack by as much as 22 percent."

That's a significant impact.

It's hard to accept sometimes that our thoughts can be such a powerful force in our lives. But they are. In my book, You'd Be So Pretty If...: Teaching Our Daughters to Love Their Bodies -- Even When We Don't Love Our Own, I mentioned a Harvard Business School study that found that workers who smiled felt happier at work -- even if they were faking it. I was fascinated by that idea, and found myself wondering if the same concept might apply to body image.

What might happen if women told themselves they were content exactly as they are? If they learned to see their bodies in a positive way?

Notice I didn't say "perfect" or even "beautiful." If you're a regular reader, you know full well that I don't believe in perfection. And for many women, thinking of themselves as "beautiful" would be a foreign and difficult concept.