With societal beauty standards and unnecessary expectations all around us, you'll be hard pressed these days to find someone who is completely at ease with themselves.
While we may not ever be completely at peace with what we see in the mirror, how can we start the process of loving ourselves more?
Be consciously positive about what you see
It’s important that when you look in the mirror, you reaffirm positive notions and not focus on the negative aspects. It is easy to stare at your figure and think about the wobbly bits, and not focus on the fact that maybe there is a reason, like having a family or being comfortable with a partner.
Try and reaffirm only the positive qualities, and keep telling yourself that over and over.
You will start to feel better sooner than you think.
Often the crux of all problems is our mindset, and body confidence is no different. If we have a negative mindset, then we're likely to be feeling less confident in our ability and how we look. Shift your mindset and focus on positive thoughts. It might take some work at first, but this could transform your life in other areas as well.
Improve your diet and drink more water
It’s hard to love the outside if you feel awful on the inside. A diet of junk food and drinking too much can often have a bad effect on our mindset when it comes to body image. Instead, indulge on a diet of fresh, healthy food and drink plenty of water to improve your energy levels and skin tone. Sometimes taking care of the inside is all it takes.
Take action if enough is enough
Sometimes your mindset and confidence is less about what you say to yourself and more about some of the issues you may be harbouring deep inside. This is when counselling could help you to gain a better understanding of yourself and improve your confidence and self-esteem. Websites such as John Arber could be a good place to start. Sometimes our limiting beliefs stem from past experiences so addressing this could help you to move forward in a positive way.
Self care
Nurturing ourselves with self care is incredibly important and is closely tied to our feelings of self love and worth. Carve out time in your day to do something that makes you feel good, whatever that may be. It may be as simple as having a long shower, washing your hair or watching an episode of your favourite TV show. Whatever it is, remember you're worthy of feeling important and nurtured and that starts with you!
