A topic that is near and dear to my heart is something I struggle with every single day. It's something that almost everybody has struggled with. BODY IMAGE.
How you see yourself and your body sets the tone for your day, your week, your month. I used to struggle with my body image. I hated what I saw in the mirror and it would depress me. If you are not happy with yourself, then nothing else matters and trying to improve yourself won't help because you are not in a frame of mind to change anything.
When wanting to make changes in your life, especially if you want to lose weight, accepting who you are is a critical step. If you do not love yourself, you won't feel motivated to change. This is how I felt several years ago. I hated myself. I hated my looks, my shape, how I felt, the clothes I wore. Nothing made me happy at all because I didn't love myself. It also affected my relationships, especially my marriage and friendships.
I had a great friend who told me that it was OKAY to love myself no matter what I wanted to change. She took me shopping and we found an amazing outfit that I looked awesome in! What a difference a great outfit made. From that day on, I started to love myself. Did I love everything about myself? No way!! BUT, I started to love myself enough that I wanted to make changes and make myself healthier.
Loving yourself and who you are RIGHT NOW is the key to motivating yourself to change, if a change is what you need or want.
Struggling with your body image and learning to love yourself?
Follow some of these steps or ideas and it should help!
1. Spend time in prayer. This is a big one for me. I wake up every morning and spend some time talking to God. He gives you the power to love yourself and be confident throughout the day. Rely on HIM to give you the power to pull through whatever it is that has you struggling. Also realize that He made you in His image. He loves you so much and no matter what you're going through, He will continue to love you. He wants you to be healthy and one of the first things you can do to be healthy is to love Him and love yourself.
2. Find a friend who will give you honest feedback no matter what (even if it's bad) and go shopping. Find an outfit that makes you feel amazing. Your friend will help with that. If you look in the mirror in the dressing room and just feel ugly in the outfit, toss it to the side. Maybe ask the sales person to help you. If you go to a department store like Macy's or Dillards, they will help you find the perfect outfit.
3. Take that outfit and your friend and go treat yourself to something nice (NOT FOOD related). Go get a pedicure or a manicure (or both!). Go to a concert. Go to the movies. Go to the mall and strut your stuff in your new outfit. Get a massage. Do something that you love with your friend in your new outfit.
4. Purge the negativity. This was a big one for me. Negative thoughts and attitudes are extremely contagious. If someone doesn't like your new look, ignore them. Get rid of the negativity in your life. If you have someone not supporting you now as you work to start loving your body image, they won't support you when you start to lose weight or change your lifestyle or pursue other goals. Get rid of the negativity in your life.
5. Surround yourself with positivity. The opposite of getting rid of those negative people: surround yourself with people who love you no matter what, honor your wishes to pursue certain goals, and want to see you succeed in loving who you are. These people will play a critical part in helping you love yourself.
6. Wake every day and do one thing that helps you love yourself. For example, I choose an outfit that makes me feel confident and awesome. I LOVE wearing skirts. I found a few that fit me so well and so I bought several. Then I accessorize. You would be surprised at how much a great accessory can boost your self esteem! Give it a try and see how it helps. Find a great pair of earrings or an awesome necklace or purse and you are on your way to feeling more confident than ever!!
7. Try reading a personal development book on the topic you struggle with. For example, weight is something I struggle with which directly affects my body image. Reshaping it All by Candace Cameron Bure has helped me see things in a different light. I love how she writes. It feels like she's having a conversation with me. Another book on my reading list is Made to Crave. It is a book that will help me focus on craving God instead of food (which is a big problem for me). So find a book that interests you and read it. Find a few friends to read it with you! Then discuss it and how it is impacting your life.
You are a beautiful person, no matter what. Find one thing right now that you love about yourself and write it down where you can see it every day- your bathroom mirror, your refrigerator, your phone, computer. Then every day find one more thing that makes you happy about yourself. One day you will wake up and realize what everybody else knows: You are BEAUTIFUL no matter what!!!!!! Once you realize that, your focus will change from wanting to change yourself because you dislike who you are to now I want to make changes BECAUSE I love myself.
I'll leave you with this thought:
Just because you might be overweight or have things you want to change about yourself, does not mean you can't love yourself. Love who you are. The rest will take care of itself.
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