Why, as women, is it so seemingly easy to notice good and desired features in other women, yet when we look at our own body, imperfections seem blindingly obvious? Stop the cycle and choose to respect and appreciate the beautiful body you have been given. How do you learn to love your body? With these little steps every day, and by focusing on gratitude rather than unfulfilled wishes.
Beauty Begins on the Inside
If you turn on the television, open a magazine, or surf the internet, you are guaranteed to come across an image of a woman that is supposed to demonstrate what sexy is, what body you should have, and what to look like in order to get noticed. By relying on what the fashion, cosmetics, and movie industries tell us is beautiful though, we lose sight of what is truly important and focus instead on an unattainable, and false, beauty.
The art of making peace with your body begins with you. It requires an awareness of what you are believing is true, what you are thinking about your own body, and what actions you choose to take. By focusing on these steps, you can begin to love your body and become a graceful, confident, and truly beautiful woman.
- Take care of your body: Eat whole, nutritious food, drink a lot of water, and get outside and move around doing something you love. Stay away from alcohol and smoking or other activities that can harm your body. A body that is well cared for is a body that looks attractive.
- Silence the inner critic: Don’t compare yourself with other women; comparison breeds insecurity and inadequacy and silencing that inner monologue is the first step towards loving your body. If you hear those negative thoughts creep in, silence them and instead remind yourself that you are beautiful.
- Shift your focus from dissatisfaction to appreciation: Dwelling on what you don’t like about your body will only serve to reinforce negative perceptions of yourself. Choose instead to dwell on how amazing your body is, one feature of yourself that you like, and the many amazing feats your body is capable of. The more you focus on the good, the more natural it will become and most importantly, the more you will believe it.
- Lose the scale: Rather than focus on a number, focus on how you feel or how you fit into your clothes. Don’t get hung up on the number if your weight is different than what you wish it were, which can lead down unhealthy paths. Try not to weigh yourself every day, instead opting for once a week or once a month.
- Throw away the magazines: The women in magazines fail to show true and honest beauty, instead showing doctored images of models or Hollywood celebrities. If you find yourself dwelling on negative thoughts and wishing you had a different body, throw temptation away and ditch the magazines.
- Find an active activity you enjoy and do it: The best way to appreciate what you have is to do something you enjoy. Paint, go for a walk, go hiking, dance, or go rock climbing. Find an activity that brings life and joy into your world and which will help you have fun.
- Remember that it truly is what’s inside that counts: The most beautiful women are those who are confident in themselves and don’t worry about what others think of them. Beauty is measured on the inside.
Celebrate Your Body, Learn to Love It, and Gain a Healthy Body Image
Realize that healthy body image begins on the inside by shifting what you believe to be true and dwelling on positive thoughts rather than negative ones. Celebrate what your body is capable of and prove to yourself that you have a gift in your healthy, strong, beautiful body. Focus on a positive attribute of your body each day and speak loving thoughts to yourself rather than destructive words that tear down. Remember that beauty is measured in intelligence, wit, and love rather than the numbers on a scale or the size on a pair of jeans.
Sarah Sandifer - Sarah Sandifer is a freelance writer, a teacher, an Army Wife, a home decorator, an avid cook, and an athlete. She loves teaching high ...
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