Many people support body positivity campaigns. Everyone is forced to smile for the camera and use their body as a political statement. But despite numerous campaigns celebrating all body types, it fails to address one thing. This refers to the reason why many people have a love-hate relationship with their bodies. There is no magic switch that will magically change your view and make you love your body just because some ads are enforcing body positivity.
The Problem With Body Positivity
Many people don’t feel good about their bodies because they failed to accept who they are in the first place. Note that body acceptance does not happen overnight. It takes lots of hard work, and more often than not, it is a lifelong commitment.
We cannot deny the fact that mainstream culture has long defined how certain bodies are better than others. Body positivity became so mainstream that most people simply expect one to embrace body positivity at all times. But the reality is, it is not realistic to feel good about your body every single hour of every single day.
These days, more people are growing dissatisfied with what they see in the mirror. But because of endless body positivity campaigns, we are often forced to lie to ourselves. Unless we come to terms with our body and learned how to self-care and self-love, we can never truly be happy and content with ourselves.
This is not to say that body positivity is not real nor is it a bad thing. We need to understand that it goes beyond looking at what you can see physically. It is about finding peace with your body and move towards body acceptance.
How You Can Start Embracing Self-Acceptance
There are many things that can help you finally accept your body and practice self-love. The moment you start saying thanks to your body more, you can slowly but surely start appreciating your body. Here’s how.
- Start by Practicing Self-Care
Many of us take self-care for granted. We often have numerous reasons for ignoring self-care. Some simply don’t have time and money while others feel it takes too much effort to care for themselves.
It is hard to accept ourselves if we don’t do anything to take great care of it. We should not wait for our bodies to give up on us before we start trying to live a healthier life. The earlier we start practicing self-care the earlier will we realize the benefits.
First, we need to adopt the mindset that self-care takes too much of our time and money. Think of self-care as a long-term investment. You can enjoy better health in the future and you will appreciate your body more if your health doesn’t inhibit your happiness.
Learn how to eat one less unhealthy snack and replace this with a healthier meal. Find ways to inject exercise into your everyday routine. Avoid vices or slowly get rid of them if you have any.
Avoid procrastinating so you will have more time to take good care of yourself. If possible, invest in a better bed by visiting a local mattress store. Making the right investments will allow you to get a more restful sleep each night which is critical in self-healing and energy-regeneration.
- Replace Negative Thoughts With Positive Self-talk
Many people focus on the things they don’t like. This only leads to negativity and bitterness. Instead of bombarding your day with negative thoughts, try to embrace positive talks instead.
It is time your stop playing the victim and finds ways you can improve yourself. Don’t focus on your problems but think of the possible solutions instead. If, for example, you always tell yourself you have no time to exercise, focus on creating solutions that will help you achieve your goal.
Don’t punish yourself by talking badly about yourself. Focus on the things that you can control, such as how you treat yourself and what you say about yourself. Repeat positive self-talk throughout the day and say these to yourself out loud.
- Practice Gratitude Every Day
Many people often focus on the things they don’t like and what they don’t have. But according to research, practicing gratitude boosts your happiness and overall well-being. It helps increase one’s satisfaction with life and how you feel about yourself.
You can practice gratitude by writing down the things you are thankful for before you go to sleep. Say thank you more and to yourself for working hard each day. Smile, find ways to thank others by helping them, and give back to the community through volunteering.
The moment we start accepting ourselves for who and what we are, the easier it will be to feel better about ourselves. That is why we need to choose to love, care and accept ourselves more. It may take time and a lot of hard work before one can truly embrace self-acceptance. But taking the first step is always one step closer to your goal.
