Oh, there is so much I could pick apart about this photo. We all tend to focus on what we don't like. The wrinkles on my forehead. That lovely H in between my eyebrows. Speaking of eyebrows...where are they going? I used to have full eyebrows...there only seems to be half now! I also seem to have a lazy eyelid. One if always lower than the other in pictures. BUT what if I focused on what I liked about the photo instead? I have a pretty genuine smile on my face. My eye color is really popping. I love my curls now after hating them most of my life. I like my hair color (thank goodness because I spend a fortune on it). Plus my new sweater is why I took the picture in the first place. If we can learn to shift our focus to what we like or dare I say, love about ourselves, we can be more kind about those things we may not like.
We all have certain things we don't like about ourselves but there are things we do like. There has to be. Even if it's something as simple as the color of our eyes or that we have great nails. I've always been grateful that I am well proportioned. Even when I put some weight on it spreads out all over my body instead of gathering in one or two specific spots. But what if we strip it down. Let's focus on the things that we take for granted every day. The fact that we have a body that moves when we tell it to. That we have all our parts and they are in working order. I'll tell you one thing, you will appreciate how well you can move once you can't. I sprained my ankle at the beginning of the summer and it still isn't right. I'm still afraid to do too much for fear I will injure it further. It's limiting. And it makes me realize I have taken my own movement for granted this year.
For the women of this country body image seems to be a big issue. Even when we look great we still find ways to pick ourselves apart. Have you ever seen a picture of your younger self looking fit and fine and remember thinking how fat you were at the time? Even when we look fantastic we think we don't look good enough. So start now. Start appreciating what you have and how you look and if you want to change, then start implementing them....slowly so they stick. There is so much more to be grateful for than to be unsatisfied with if we are looking at the right things.
We also tend to have issues with our personality or how we handle things in our lives. There is always room for improvement but we need to stop being so hard on ourselves for the things we don't like. Once again, change your focus to what you do like. Your focus is your reality. If you spend all day calling yourself fat and lazy, you will continue to think that about yourself and have no motivation to change. But if you focus on the fact that you can still move your body and are able to make changes you may want to see happen. It's the same with aspects of our personality. If we feel we are harsh and quick to judge people, we will do more of it. But if we are also loyal, forgive other easily and give the benefit of the doubt to others....we can focus on those aspects. We can always change things we don't like about ourselves but there is always something to like about ourselves. I would like you to find 10 personality traits that you like about yourself and write them down. We will use them tomorrow. I will start, here is my list....
I'm outgoing
I'm ambitious
I'm fun (or so people tell me)
I can find a bright side (now)
I am honest
I am loyal
I love to be around people
I'm active and like to find new activities
I'm eager to learn new things
I try to see all sides of a situation
I will admit that it took me longer to come up with this list than it would a list of things I didn't like about myself. That is what we are trying to change. Focus on the good. And more good will come. So make your list and we will work on how we see ourselves all this week. We will talk about self image, body image, how we see ourselves in professional settings and the type of spouse and parent we are. Get ready to dig in. Get ready to love yourself.
It's Monday! You know it's my favorite day of the week after Friday, Saturday and Sunday. A brand new week full of possibilities and opportunities. Let's make the most of them. And of course, be your badass self. You know I'm cheering you on!
Comments