…if you wait until all your boxes are checked before you go out and live your life, you will be waiting forever.
It started in 2010. I boarded my first commercial flight, beyond excited for my first real vacation. Destination: Maui. I wore my cutest outfits and bikinis every day without hesitation. I had a blast! But after returning home, reality hit.
My sister-in-law is great at documenting vacations with her camera. After we returned from Maui, she shared all the pictures she had taken abroad. Insert screeching break sound here. What the actual heck. I look monstrous in every. single. picture. I knew I had gained a lot of weight in college, but those pictures crushed my self-esteem and had a ripple affect on my body image for years to come.
Six years after Maui, we vacationed to Costa Rica—a trip of a lifetime in my opinion. Only this time, I didn’t take very many pictures, and the pictures I did take were all from the neck up. If you’re interested, you can see my pictures from this time period on the My Journey page.
You see, after seeing the pictures of myself in Maui, I began to hate my body. Yes, hate. I had tried restrictive dieting, running, diet pills, liquid diets, you name it, all because I hated my body. I thought if I punished it enough, it would begin to look the way I wanted. But it didn’t. So there I was, on a trip of a lifetime with hardly any documentation of it. Well, I have decided that’s bs and I’m never going to let it happen again.
What I’ve Learned About Body Image
Our self-image is created by our inner dialogue. The way you speak to and about yourself is how you will treat yourself because you start to believe the things you repeatedly say and think. Okay, I know that I’ve been pretty dedicated to my health and fitness for over three years now, but guess what: I still see things about my body that I don’t love! I bloat, I jiggle, and I have cellulite. However, I’ve decided to focus on what my body can do rather than how it looks. If I praise my body for lifting heavy or pushing through an intense workout, I find a lot more positive messages I can send myself. Whereas if I only give myself compliments on how I look, well, there’s not a lot to be said.
Give yourself grace. If you are a mom, wow. Just look at what your body did! Be proud of that body and tell it that you love it. You are blessed to have it, and not every female body is capable of reproduction. And if you haven’t met your goal weight or gotten back into your “skinny pants,” so what? Enjoy your life anyway. Document your adventures anyway! Look at it this way, you are on a journey, and if you wait until all your boxes are checked before you go out and live your life, you will be waiting forever.
Lastly, don’t fall for the social media trap. If you want to post your pictures, do it! I am only saying this from my own experience. I grew up with judgmental people. I know what people say about others. It’s hurtful. However, I have since learned why people are this way. It’s only because they’re unhappy with themselves. It’s kind of sad when you really think about it. These people are so unhappy with their own efforts, situations, and self-limiting beliefs that they take it out on those of us who are brave enough to live above it all. So, coming from my 32 years of wisdom: WHO CARES. Live your life for you. At the end of the day, it’s your body and your life, and it can be so much more enjoyable if you allow yourself the freedom to just be happy.
