"The Power of Positivity: Ditching Negative Self-Talk for Self-Love"
In my teens after puberty, I ran too much to reclaim my lean gymnastics physique, not being thrilled with my changing body. Even as a teenager, I liked to lift, (which was ground-breaking way back then!) but didn’t like my strong looking arms, relative to my too skinny legs. My track performance as university athlete suffered because I ran long distances after our lifting and track sessions. Despite my coach asking me not to, I ran long mileage because I wanted to stay as slim as the fitness cover models on magazines. In my late twenties I hated that I lacked an hourglass figure, and all I could visually focus on was my stomach not being flat enough and not having hips to balance out my straight waist. In my 30’s I still focused on my lack of hourglass figure, and I was now also very concerned that my once olive skin was now pale, and my bluish veins were super prominent on some areas of my body. I also immensely disliked the sunspots that had popped up on my face. I bet some of you reading this are shocked that I had these thoughts and I’m sure most of you have never noticed these supposed “flaws” that bothered me. But I’m sure you can also relate to how we as humans tend to hyper-focus on imperfections rather than celebrate the great things about ourselves.
Now that I am in my 40’s, (almost 50!) I am the happiest with my body that I ever have been because I genuinely appreciate what my body can still do much more than fixate on small imperfections. I like that I have muscular arms, love my athletic legs, and know that I’ll never have an hourglass waist, but I really don’t care. I wish that my chest had more “lift”, but I feel lucky to have been able to breastfeed a couple of kids (too much info???? sorry:) and I remember that a good sports bra can do wonders. So instead, I put my energy into appreciating how cool it is that I can still box jump, sprint with my kids and still pull off a few gymnastics moves, carry heavy loads of groceries, and carry my bike up the stairs.
This February, in honour of Valentine’s Day instead of thinking about the things you don’t like about your body or self, I challenge you to work on self-love.
To work on self-love, take a moment to reflect and ask yourself what you love about yourself. Maybe you’ve noticed that you’ve got great shoulders, or you love your ears or your hair. It doesn’t have to be a body part, but rather more a way about how you interact with the world. Maybe it’s the way you think outside the box, or how you’re a great storyteller, or great listener or the fact that you have a “way” with animals. As and additional challenge if you catch yourself thinking negative thoughts about some part of yourself, instead, challenge yourself to thank that body part for something that it does for you. “Thighs, thank you for carrying me where I want to go. Belly, thank you for helping me digest. Skin, thank you for protecting me”.
This Valentine's Day, let's redirect our energy from self-criticism to self-appreciation. Embracing self-love is a continuous process, and by acknowledging and celebrating our strengths, we pave the way for a healthier, more positive relationship with ourselves.
