This is a big one for me, my journey with my body is one of the journeys that has made me who I am today.
I think when it comes to image we too often look for acceptance in the way others see us, through compliments, achievements, a number on the scales or how good people think we look, but this is all wrong. True love with your body comes from within, it comes from YOU. It’s a journey we must embark on alone, stumble through on our own but discover its beauty on our own (as hard as it is at times!)
I’ve struggled with accepting my body for a long time, over analysing little things, thinking parts of me should look better or different…. so what made me finally say this is enough?
After battles with my body confidence day in day out, I started to realise that things needed to change and that the only person who really judged my body was myself. Here I’ve devised some tips on how to love your body-
1- Perspective- perspective is everything. Rather than seeing your body as a feature of your appearance, see it as a shelter, its not just an object to be adored but a machine that keeps us breathing, loving, creating and more than ever right now we are relying on our bodies to fight off diseases. We often forget how amazing our bodies are and we must be thankful for them.
2-The bigger picture– when all is said and done our bodies are not what are remembered, they grow old and beauty fades but the real things that matter stay. Love, laughter, memories, happiness and the soul that’s within. I have to tell myself that the happiest times of my life weren’t defined by the way I looked but the people I was with and the way it made me feel. You won’t be remembered by the weight on your scales but the love you showed and the life you led.
3-Own your insecurities– we all have little things we might want to change but every part of your body is what makes you unique and the right person will love those parts one day. We’re different for a reason, the body you have is quite often what someone else wants and what they have will be what another person wants too. In the competitive world we live in we’re always searching for more but forget about the beauty that’s already there. When you begin to love your insecurities they start to become your best assets.
4- Stop comparing yourself- When we scroll through Instagram or any source of social media we often forget that this is NOT REAL…it’s simply a snippet of someone’s life..quite often filtered, angled correctly, photoshopped and portrayed to be more exciting than it is. What Instagram doesn’t show is the persons mental state behind the camera, they’re comparing themselves just as much as you and find it hard to keep up in such a competitive world. The biggest step to loving yourself is to simply stop comparing!
5-Use your body– Rather than dwelling on our perfectly imperfect bodies, remember how amazing and capable they are. Go for a run, go for a walk, use your body to it’s full potential and be thankful for its abilities! This is a great way of creating a really good relationship with our bodies.
6- Speak kindly to your body– I always thought it was a bit weird speaking to your own body but trust me…it feels so good! Speaking to your body in positive and kind ways (like you might to someone else) is spoken so highly of in the body positivity world. We forget to be kind to ourselves and thank our bodies for all the amazing things it does. Tomorrow when you get up, thank your body, look yourself in the mirror and speak kind words, something like “Wow you look amazing today!”. Now one thing that sounds even crazier is hugging yourself. But trust me…we need to hug ourselves from time to time because we are our own biggest enemy at times!
So in a nutshell…Thank your body, it’s an amazing machine, embrace every part of your body, know that you are unique and beautiful, stop comparing yourself to others and most importantly speak kindly to yourself!
Despite being happy with my body now I’m going to be honest I still have days where I feel unconfident…but we all bloat, we all have scars and our bodies are different for a reason. Love who you are because there is only one of you and life is far too short to not eat that piece of cake!
Self love is the greatest love you can have, it’s a love that already exists, you just have to find it. Once it’s there it will never let you down! Are you ready to embark on the journey of finding self love or are you already there?💞
I hope you can find some help in these tips and I really hope people can start to embrace their bodies because we are all beautiful in our own little ways..the right person will love your insecurities and you should too!❤️
Have an amazing weekend guys. Stay safe, stay happy and keep loving!☀️
Love your mind 