Encourage self love

Encourage self love. What an amazing concept! But is it possible in this day and age to encourage self love when we struggle to love ourselves AND our bodies?  We are constantly bombarded by images of what social media considers beautiful (which usually means wearing size 0, sporting bright white teeth, having flawless skin and shiny hair).  Unfortunately, we tend to compare ourselves to these images and as a result, we often begin to develop negative feelings about ourselves. So how do we overcome these negative feelings and start loving ourselves, inside and out?

Below is an article about one woman's journey toward self love. It's called, "Seriously, let's end the war with our bodies."  I loved her story for a few reasons. One, I could totally relate! As a personal trainer, I am constantly aware of my own body image because of the industry I am in. Two, I am training for my second Ironman so I am even more aware of my body because I need to fuel it properly for energy. I also need to train "smart" (this includes rest, recovery, interval training, cardio training and strength training) to ensure I develop stronger leaner muscles while preventing injury.  Third, I loved her strategy of how to encourage self love!

1. Start by loving yourself just the way you are.  This means loving everything about you and your body! i.e.  Your wrinkles, your graying hair, your love handles, your thighs, your arms, your feet, your hips, your chest (no matter what size it is!), your freckles, your nose, your chin.......

2. Engage in positive and uplifting conversations about yourself.  In other words, STOP the negative and depleting self -talk.  Try this little experiment.  Say something negative about yourself and exam how you feel. (You can either be in a conversation with yourself or with someone)  Now say something positive about yourself and exam how you feel.  Do you feel a difference? You may discover that you have more energy, you feel good, and you feel more alive. So why not continue to have those feelings and talk positive about you?

3. If you hear someone else talking negatively about themselves, turn it around.  Tell them something positive about themselves instead or get them to say something positive about themselves.

4.  If you are giving a compliment to someone and they deflect it, let them know that your compliment is genuine!

I challenge you to give at least one of these steps a try.  It just might make a difference in how you see yourself and how you can help encourage self love.

Stay active and anything is possible!

PS. Here's the link!

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-17157/seriously-lets-end-the-war-with-our-bodies.html