Think right now about three things you love about yourself. Not mentally, not who you are as a person, but physically. Three physical things that you love about you. Do it. Right now. Actually do it.
Struggling to find three?
We can commonly talk about ourselves in a positive light in the context of what we do (I’m a good teacher, I’m passionate about my job), who we are (I’m a loyal friend, I’m a strong father), but when it comes to our physical traits, most of us have a hard time finding the love.
Looking at other people’s pictures it’s easy to say ‘I want abs/arms/legs like that,’ or ‘I want to look like her/him.’ Instead, start looking at yourself and saying I want to be me and I want to be the best version of me. You’re allowed to love yourself, and still improve upon yourself. Don’t let your worth rest on ‘I won’t be happy until I’m a size 4’ or ‘until I see sub 180 on the scale.’
It’s easy to sit back and say ‘Yeah, yeah. I’ll work on it.’ But let’s do more. Let’s actively find words that are meaningful and helpful to get you on the right track – a mantra if you will. (Don’t steal the famous lines from The Help “You is kind. You is smart. You is important.” But think along the same lines.) These words should be personal, significant, and empowering. These are words you should say to yourself before a big meeting, trying to PR a lift, or even when you’re having a shitty day.
Maybe your words are:
Powerful.
Badass.
Courageous.
Maybe they’re:
Beautiful.
Intelligent.
Worthwhile.
Or:
Strong.
Faithful.
Capable.
And if you keep telling yourself these things over and over again, there will come a day where you believe it and believe in yourself.
ALSO… as promised we’re providing resources. We found this amazing article that actually discusses how mantras aren’t the best. So if you read this and are like “eh” then you may find something promising here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/melodywilding/2016/08/15/forget-positive-thinking-this-is-how-you-actually-change-negative-thoughts/#559345976c46
