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06/09/2015

 

It was a few weeks before my Cuba vacation. I was in the fitting room of a swimsuit store, trying on a few bikinis. I wouldn’t say prancing around the beach in a bikini is one of my top ten things to do, but for the most part I don’t give it much thought.

 

I don’t have the perfect body, but what is a perfect body really?? Does it even exist? Or perhaps every one of us has the perfect body? I know personally I find great comfort in the fact that my body birthed a child. That is a pretty incredible feat I would say… so if someone has a problem with my bikini mom bod which includes stretch marks and dimples… too bad for them ;).

 

Ok back to the change room. What I heard while changing in the fitting room made my heart absolutely sink.

 

What the ladies were saying about themselves while they tried on swimsuits was devastating. Absolutely heart wrenching. I know as woman we can be hard on ourselves but if anyone else were to say the same things to those women as they were saying to themselves, we might have a lawsuit on our hands.  It was that bad!

 

A few comments I heard from the women in that fitting room stuck out to me. They included…

 

“I’m so disgusting”

“Ughh I’m so depressed right now”

“I can’t believe I have let myself get like this”

“I wanna throw up”

 

We would NEVER say these things to our friends trying on swimsuits!

Why wouldn’t we?

Because it would be so incredibly hurtful and damaging.

Then why do these things just roll off the tongue with very little thought when we talk to ourselves?

What we say to ourselves matters! It hurts our self-esteem, our self-worth. It makes us want to hide and not be seen. It makes us feel like less of a woman and this is totally unacceptable. Because we as woman ROCK!

 

HOW DO WE CHANGE THIS?

 

Step 1

Stop comparing yourself to others. This is a sure fire way to feel bad about yourself. You are unique and special. Own it! Rock it!

And Please, please, please don’t compare your body with woman in magazines who have been air brushed to pieces.  It’s not only magazines but social media as well.

Filters can do magical things, we all know this by now… so don’t compare your bathroom mirror, horrible lighting reflection to a filtered pic on a social media platform… you are just setting yourself up to feel like crap. This is NOT a realistic comparison.

 

Step 2

The next time you hear those negative self-talk voices in your head or feel the urge to verbalize them.. Stop them in their tracks and replace them instantly with something you love about yourself.

We all have things we love about our-self. Our hair, our legs, our sexy eyes. So why are we focusing on those stretch marks or those dimples on the back of our thighs? What we put our energy and attention to GROWS. If we focus on the negative that is all we will see. Instead focus on the rockin hot things you love about yourself and soon enough that is what you will see.

 

Step 3

Positive affirmations. Usually people use positive affirmations regularly and love them or have used them once or twice, felt like a total goofball and haven’t thought of them since. Well its time you start using them… everyday – once or twice a day in the mirror.

They may seem silly at first but do them for about 28-29 days straight and watch the magic happen! This is about how long it takes for your brain to believe anything you tell it.

How long have you been telling yourself, your not good enough? Or you’re not thin enough? Or your boobs aren’t perky enough?

We need to change what we say to ourselves!! What we say matters. It creates our reality.

Here are some of the positive self-image affirmations I use. Feel free to use them or modify them to resonate with who you are.

 

“My body is healthy, strong and beautiful”

 “I love every inch of my sexy mom bod”

 “I deeply and truly love and accept myself just the way I am”

 

Affirmations may feel weird at first but I promise the more you say them the easier and more natural they become.

Feeling good about yourself and loving your body isn’t always easy. We are constantly bombarded with unrealistic images that we are supposed to live up to.  It’s ridiculous and unfair.

But ultimately you have the power to create your reality through what you say and think about yourself on a daily basis. So keep that self-talk and those thoughts positive. It will make all the difference in the world.

 

So whatever bod god gave you, be kind to it. Own it, rock it and have fun with it! Life is hard enough on it’s own without you being your own worst enemy.

 

A lil food for thought: Jump forward 30 to 40 years. What advice would your older self give you in regards to how you view your body now? Close your eyes and just think about that for a minute.

 

With lots of love,

Lisa

 

Please comment and share if this resonates with you 🙂