Being happy in our own being and body is more about self-acceptance, self-love and having a positive body image than crash dieting, obsessive worry and excessive exercise. Actually having a positive body image comes from self-love. Changing the way we view or imagine ourselves is possible when we move toward opportunities to nurture ourselves and away from our daily excuses. Although it is commendable to maintain a healthy diet and regular workouts, unconditional love is what makes us feel at home with ourselves regardless of where we are in life. Self-love is essentially self-acceptance that has been acquired through persistent self-loving attention.
Total self-love can be achieved but, as soon as we lose a job, gain weight, or go through a break up, self-doubt creeps in. In life things can and do go wrong without notice. Thinking of things that go wrong as healthy challenges instead of attacks on our dream to be perfect can mitigate self-doubt. When we are not comfortable with ourselves, we are forced to rely on others to reaffirm our attractiveness, potency, and loveable-ness.
Self-doubt can lead to us being hyper-focused on a body part that has gotten out of shape, thus feeling flawed. Instead of being obsessed with our physical desirability, we need to redirect that attention to the risks of aging, poor diet habits, and too little exercise. Most of us have struggled with our body image from one time or another. Being open to life’s repeated lessons and learning to love ourselves without any exceptions are the fundamentals of self-acceptance.
Often we elect to be around people who adore us, but a dose of reality and gentle criticism can help heal an ailing self-image. The truth is that what we see in movies or in glamour magazines are not what we typically see the mirror. Most of us will never be a perfect size three or four regardless of what we did in the gym, or what extreme measures we take.
Even if we are not the perfect size, we can still achieve perfection in our attitude and body image.
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