Let's Talk About Body Image

BODY IMAGE.

Tricky subject, but let me take a stab at it.

I was scrolling back through pictures from a trip to Hawaii in 2019. I have a ton of bikini photos from that trip. I typically avoid being in a bathing suit, but this trip I decided to free myself and enjoy the sun. Bikini + Body = Bikini Body, right? I let my husband and family take photos. But thinking back, how many of those photos did I delete? Unflattering angles, unflattering lighting, positions that made me look less than ideal. Delete, delete, delete.

Here's the thing, though. The world isn't made of perfect lighting and perfect angles. I often wonder when this awareness of my body started. And when did it break? When did I stop seeing my body as a powerful machine and start honing in on everything I perceived as a flaw? There is nothing inherently wrong with my body. It moves, it folds, it stretches. It does everything it's supposed to do.

People talk about overcoming their struggles with body image, and on some days I am one of those people. Other days, I'm not. I do actively try to shift my mindset towards the positive, but some days it doesn't happen. Body positivity is something that can be hard to achieve, but the way I look at it body ACCEPTANCE is the primary goal after years of self-criticism.

I don't expect myself to look in the mirror every day and think "You are beautiful and perfect the way you are". If I don't believe it that day, the fake-it-til-you-make-it approach to convince myself just doesn't make sense. Instead, the dialogue is "you are healthy and I accept you". I choose to show a little gratitude to this flawed but powerful machine.