My heart just jumped with delight and happiness for my 13 year old daughter, she just ran down to me smiling from ear to ear wearing a dress that She is wearing to a teenage youth disco next week and she looked so beautiful and happy from top to toe. It wasn’t because She ‘looked’ so happy, but that I felt her happiness flooding from her face and heart as She modelled in front of me, she wanted to show me how good She feels inside and out.
It brought me back to memories of myself at that tender young age and being so embarrassed about my body, not fully showing off what was hidden under the baggy clothes and trying to hide away from the world noticing me. I do remember not feeling so good about myself and that reflected in what I wore and how I wore those clothes. I wanted to be cool and look the part so I dressed in clothes that showed off my inner rebel, I thought I could hide my feelings by wearing clothes that made me look tougher than I really was inside.
It is amazing how certain things will trigger a memory of the past for you, but today I was delighted to be reminded of the way I ‘used’ to feel. I am no longer that 13 year old that fears what others think of me, or to be honest what I believed of myself in a negative way. I am ME! I have learned to love the body that holds my soul, to be and wear what makes me feel good about myself. One thing I have noticed over the years is that if I feel good about myself on the inside, it doesn’t really matter what I wear on the outside, I still feel good.
Stop criticising yourself, the lumps and bumps or whatever you want to change, just be thankful each day for the body you have and the more you love it, the more you will transform the way you feel about it, hence transforming the image that is reflected back to you each day in the mirror. People will comment on good you look and sometimes tell you that you ‘must have lost weight!”, it isn’t anything on the outside that has changed, it all starts from within you!
So let’s get started from today, promise yourself that every morning when you wake up, you will be grateful for the body you are in, give it compliments each and every time you think of it, look at yourself in the mirror and when you do, smile from your eyes all the way down to your toes and say “You are amazing, your body is amazing”. Don’t compare yourself to others, saying “I wish I had her figure, her legs, her hair!”, other people are not YOU! You are unique and beautiful, remember that.
I am sitting on my lovely rounded ass with my pyjamas still on, my hair is not brushed and if anyone walked in right now, I would be a little embarrassed as it is the middle of the day, but not because of what I look like, it is still me in here and I am happy. Once we start to accept who we are on the inside, it starts to shine through on the outside. When you start to feel good about yourself, you will then think about doing things to make you feel even better. Go for a walk, not because you want to loose weight, but because you want to enjoy the beauty of the day and get some fresh air. Don’t diet and cut out all the foods you love, have a little bit of everything nice and tell yourself you deserve it.
Feeling and looking good should not be a punishment in your life, it is a gift to yourself. Don’t see it as penance and something that you have to force yourself to do every day just so you can ‘look’ good. Do it for you, it doesn’t matter what anybody else thinks of you, it is how you think and feel about yourself that really matters.
Here’s to each day being filled with gratitude for the body that holds us, if you have to squeeze into your jeans, stop wearing those jeans, get a pair that feel good on you and you feel good wearing them. Let’s start fitting into the body we have now.
Happy Mirror modelling and being your best supporter and cheerleader. YOU ARE SIMPLY AMAZING.