Don’t miss out on your life because you’re insecure.
I have spent nearly half of my life trying to be smaller, constantly trying to weigh less and obsessing about fitting into a mold. I am OVER IT.
If we are chronically obsessed with dieting and being less, it will consume our entire lives. And at my funeral, I really don’t think that people are going to be talking about what my body looked like. Seriously. Think about that for a second. When you go to a memorial service, do people ever mention what people LOOKED like? No. They talk about what those people were about– what they loved, the family and friends they had and the impact they made. So, why do we give in to our culture’s obsession with perfectionism and looking a certain way? Especially as women, why are we always trying to make ourselves smaller? At the end of our lives, is our size really going to matter?
It’s almost as if the smaller I got at certain points in my life, the more I missed out on. In a world that’s already telling us to be less, can we start being MORE already?? What is wrong with being “big and strong” anyway? When did that become a negative thing for women? Why are we always trying to be “skinny?” Strong > Skinny. And I don’t just mean strong muscular wise, I mean a strong heart, soul and mind. Strong in every area of life.
I want to share this simple encouragement: stop letting insecurities rule your life.
I feel like I can only share this with you because I’ve started practicing this. Hence the photo below and my dope new lifters. I’m trying to do things that scare me and not let fear stop me. Shame only goes away when we bring it to light. And it’s awkward, people. And to be honest, I don’t always like it. I’d rather run for the hills! But, I know I have to do it. I’ve let my fears and insecurities about my body in particular stop be from experiencing the FULLNESS that life has to offer.
(Proof that I am trying something new at The Strength Co. in Costa Mesa, CA)
If you’re like me, and you’ve been insecure about your own body, and the way it looks, I want you to ask yourself WHY. Why is it that you’re so insecure?! Are you believing lies? Were you criticized growing up? Did you watch someone you love struggle with their weight? Are you not treating your own body well? Are you emotionally eating? Is it the internal thoughts or bad habits or a combo of both? Have you just always felt inadequate in general?
You have one life, you have a one body. Health is one of the most under appreciated gifts. Not everyone is blessed with good health. I’ve spent many years watching people I love suffer with health issues. It sucks. I’ve also spent way too many years of my life hating my own body and being super critical of myself- even while my body has been perfectly “healthy.” I spent my high school and college years obsessing about my looks, trying to lose weight and be thinner and more toned ALL THE TIME and missing out on a lot of memories I could have been making. What if we stopped being so critical and stopped trying to lose weight all the time. Why are we trying to be less?!?!
What I am trying to say is….what would happen if we chose to BE MORE. To be STRONGER. TO BE BIGGER! And to shift the focus to our HEALTH and HAPPINESS so that we can live the big, full, BEAUTIFUL lives we were meant to live. After all, health comes down to the way you feel, right? What if we stopped focusing so much on what we looked like and focused on being strong and feeling good in the one body we have?! And what if we shifted our focus to what our bodies could DO as opposed to what they LOOKED like?
We let fear stop us.
Please don’t let fear or insecurities hold you back. I am 26 and I started “dieting” when I was 13 years old. That’s half of my life I’ve spent chronically obsessed with every ounce of food I’ve eaten, workouts I’ve completed and missing out on things because I was worried about what I looked like or what food was going to be served at a party.
Don’t let your insecurities hold you back. I beg you. Let’s stop making exercise and fitness and eating well all about our LOOKS. It’s about living. Because remember, at the end of your life, people are going to talk about who you WERE and what you LOVED, not what you LOOKED LIKE.
Let’s BE MORE together. And be strong as heck in the process (cause in my opinion, being able to do chin-ups and Deadlifts is pretty dang empowering).
E
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