he hardest relationship we will ever have is with ourselves, but it’s the most important one!
Some days you’ll find it hard to even acknowledge parts of yourself, let alone embrace them. We’ve all found ourselves standing in front of the mirror and wishing parts of our bodies away, yearning for them to be replaced with someone else's.
Untangling yourself from self hatred isn’t easy, but I promise you, it’s so worth it. Just imagine getting dressed in the morning, passing a mirror or shopping for clothes and suddenly your thoughts aren’t immediately hurtful? Instead they’re gentle, loving and accepting.
There was a point in my life where I weighed 110lbs, a ‘target’ weight I’d longed for years to achieve after being over 200lbs in my teens. I’d always dreamed of all the confidence I’d automatically have when I hit that target. I thought of all the love that I’d magically have for myself and all the new found belief with which I’d be instilled.
Guess what? None of that happened. Instead my hair fell out, I was constantly ill and my periods stopped for a whole year. I still had cellulite, I still had rolls when I sat down, I still had stretch marks and I was still at war with my body.
My issue, it turns out, was that I had no idea why I wanted these things. Why did I want to be that small? Why did I want to take up less space in this world? Why was I killing myself for a thigh gap and abs? Skinny for me, was absolute misery.
I realised that this confidence I was chasing would not come from fitting society’s ideals, a weight on the scale or a clothing size. I had to learn to love my body in its entirety, in all of its forms, for ME.
The journey to build the confidence you have within yourself and your body is not a destination, it’s a process. It does not happen overnight, instead, with each year that goes by, you’ll have less and less days where you resent your body.
With time, you'll find yourself wearing clothes that you had reserved for “when you lose 10lbs” or when you “get rid” of your cellulite.
Eventually, you just might find yourself wearing whatever the hell you damn well want, wearing things for you and you alone!
When we stop looking to satisfy a society that has imposed strict beauty standards on us, we start to ask ourselves -
“What goals do I have for MY body?”
“How do I want to feel in MY body?”
“What do I want to wear that makes ME feel confident in MY body?”
Keep making those steps to embrace yourself and your body, for YOU!
Not for an ideal society has placed on you.
Not for a love interest.
And not for the opinions of other people.
Do it for YOU, no one else.
You deserve this confidence you’re building, you always have!
Love,
