How To Live Your Most Body Positive Life Yet
I want you to take a moment right now, and close your eyes...eyes closed? Good! Now I want you to visualize what it would be like if you lived in a world where body shame didn't exist. How would you feel? What would you do differently if you weren't being held back by society's ideas of what pretty, acceptable, and healthy looked like? Would you feel more brave and free to go after your dreams? If you said yes and are feeling a longing to live in such a world, you're not alone!
I have felt the pain that comes with living in a world that places beauty and being thin in the highest of regard. I also know the struggle of realizing that we are more than just objects to be manipulated, and yet still having to cope with the fact that most of the world hasn't quite come to the same conclusion. It certainly doesn't help either that this whole body shame thing isn't something you can just get away from. In fact TV., magazines, and advertisements, make it a point to remind us at every turn that we are certainly not OK as we are and that we better get to "working" on our bodies asap!
The thing is though, it's not enough to just be disappointed in the way that things are. In order to make any real change, we need to make sure that we are speaking up and doing our part to spread the ideas of Body Love, and Body Acceptance; and the cool thing is that we don't even need to do anything crazy to make that happen! Simply taking small steps to make sure your life is as body positive as possible is one of the greatest contributions you could make to creating a more loving and Body Positive place for all humans to live in.
Below I have listed some easy things you could do right now to create your most body positive life yet!
1. Curate Your Social Media Page- This is possibly the biggest thing you could do for yourself! Take the time and go through your social media pages and delete/unfollow anyone who promotes a lifestyle that you don't believe in, or just plain doesn't make you feel good about yourself when you see their feed pop. Comparing and tearing yourself down doesn't do anybody any good! Keep your feed positive and up lifting.
2. Be Aware Of What You Are Watching On TV - If you find that a certain actress on a show prompts you to question if you are pretty enough/thin enough, then don't watch it! There are plenty of awesome shows out there that you can choose from.
3. Listen to Body Positive Podcasts- This is like getting your own personal body positive coach for the cost of nothing! It really is so validating and honestly life changing, to constantly hear other people talk about the same ideas you believe in.
4. Get Rid Of Clothes That No Longer Fit- Seriously why do we do this to ourselves?! It's like a game of torture that we play, and for what reason? There are plenty of situations that we have no control over that remind us of the fact that we live in a skinny is good, and fat is bad world; our closets shouldn't be one of those reminders!! Only keep clothes that when you put them on, make you feel really good.
5. Have A My Body, My Business Attitude With Those Around You- It's true you don't have a lot of say in what others think, but that doesn't mean you have to be privy to it! Make it super clear to those around you that you are not OK with any comments, good or bad, in regards to your body..because it is after all YOUR body.
Those are just some small changes that you could make right now, that when put all together, has the ability to completly change your every day experience with the way you view not only your body, but the whole world around you! I know that together, we can make a better, more accepting life for those around us, and for generations to come.
