Today’s Body Positivity tip is about creating compassion, and directing it towards yourself. Today’s tip is for when you’re having a tough body image day:
3. Imagine you’re speaking to your best friend.
I would never, ever say the mean things I say to myself to my friend. When I step back from my critical self-talk, I remind myself,
“My friend would never say this to me, and I would never say this to my friend.”
Oftentimes, we are our own worst enemies.
When you’re wrapped up in body-shaming, ask yourself what you would say to a close friend who was feeling the same way you are. Would you tell him or her all the awful things you tell yourself about how you look? Would you ever let someone else say those things to your friend? I’m sure the answer is,
“No! Absolutely not!”
So, why is it any more okay for us to speak to ourselves that way? Practice speaking and seeing yourself through the perspective of a friend or significant other. Start speaking to yourself the way you speak to others. Practice changing your language towards yourself, because you deserve as much love and appreciation for your looks, character, and magnificent qualities as you give to others around you. A good rule of thumb, then, when we find ourselves stuck in judgement, is to simply ask,
“would I say this to my best friend, to my brother, sister, or significant other?”
If the answer is no, then practice letting go of that judgement, because being gentle with ourselves is just a necessity, not an option.
Practice compassion with everyone, including yourself,
-XOXO BeachBumPoet
Header Image Credit: operationmove.com.au
This is a really excellent tip and one I’ll be sharing around whenever someone starts sounding negative like that!
Thank you so much, I appreciate it! I catch myself having to check myself on the negativity all the time too. I hope you like today’s tip #4, I’ll be posting it in just a bit!
Looking forward to it, I’ll check out the others too, thanks!