Insecurities are something that everyone deals with. I'm sure everyone can relate to that feeling of looking in a mirror and not liking something that you see. And then suddenly that one thing you don't like becomes the only thing you can see. It's a really horrible feeling, right? It is a common misconception that only young girls struggle with this. I have found that just about everyone has struggled with it or is struggling with it - children and adults alike, both male and female.
Anyone can look at people in movies, TV shows, magazines, and more, and somehow believe that this is the standard of "beauty" that they must meet. However, the simple fact of the matter is that most of these celebrities have their own personal trainers, their own makeup artists and hairstylists, and are typically airbrushed and photoshopped. In other words, these standards that we set for ourselves are simply unrealistic. The funny thing is that even these celebrities have their own physical insecurities! So how do we change our thinking and the way we see ourselves? Unfortunately, it's not easy. When I was younger, even though I knew about airbrushing photographs, I still compared myself to celebrities. However, that all began to change when began to think of the phrase "love your body" in an entirely different way.
What if "loving your body" had nothing to do with appearances at all? A few years ago I read something that really stuck with me. It was an article about what it means to love your body, but ironically it didn't mentioned physical appearances even once. The part that really struck me was when the author talked about how when we are sick or injured, our bodies are doing absolutely everything they possibly can to make us heal. It's as if we have our own little army fighting like crazy inside of us. It's kind of strange to think, right? When we are sick, even if it's just a cold, we typically feel horrible and feel that somehow our bodies are failing us, when in reality it's just the opposite. Forgive me for sounding cliche here, but our bodies are truly our biggest fans, our biggest supporters. It's amazing what all our bodies do for us!
Reading that article completely changed the way I viewed my body. I began to appreciate all of the incredible things it allows me to do, and I suddenly didn't really notice those things about my appearance that I used to be so insecure about. "Loving my body" no longer had anything to do with physical characteristics; it was entirely about the gratitude I had for my body and the warrior that it is.
My life changed a lot after I began to appreciate my body for all of the things it does for me. I became much more confident in my own skin because I was proud of the body I lived in. I also found myself wanting to take better care of my body so that it could be stronger and fight even harder for me. Your body is a truly amazing gift. Don't ever take it for granted.
So next time you look in the mirror, I hope you won't see what you perceive as imperfections. Instead, I hope you see how incredible your body is. I hope you see how incredible you are.
Please comment below if you have any thoughts or questions!