Have you ever spent hours looking at that one spot on your face where the skin in not smooth? Have you cursed yourself for having huge thighs? Have you complained that your nose is not as sharp as you’d like it to be? Saying such negative things about your body does nothing for your self-image. Follow the suggestions made below to break the habit of having such an unkind attitude towards your body.
Be Kind to Yourself
This means going beyond thinking nice thoughts and learning to cultivate attitudes and behaviors that will allow you to feel good. Aim to like being in your own skin and enjoy the way your body moves and feels. Here are a few examples to show you how to do this:
When you’re taking a shower, instead of rushing through it, enjoy the feel of your skin.
When you’re dancing, savor the sensations of your hips swaying.
When you’re sitting in the sun, notice the pleasure you get from the warmth on your skin.Edit Your Self-Talk
Instead of focusing on all that’s bad about your body, why not follow every negative thought with a positive one. For instance, when you think, “I hate my hips,” change your thought to, “I may have big hips, but I have pretty eyes.” Furthermore, when someone says, “You have nice eyes,” say, “Thank you,” and smile. Remember that most men find self-confidence in a woman more of a turn-on than her flat stomach.
Observe Other Women
Do you think that all celebrities have the perfect figure, skin and features? Look again. Notice Julia Robert’s wide smile and Jessica Simpson’s cleft chin. The thing is, many successful and happy women rarely resemble the supermodel ideal. In fact, real women come in all shapes and sizes and it’s their differences that make them interesting and a joy to be around.
Think Spiritually
Ask a happily married man what attracted him to his wife and, chances are that he’ll say it was her beautiful mind. Understand that your beauty is not reflected in your body, but in your mind and, in your mind, you can choose to be the most beautiful person ever. Here are examples of statements you can recite regularly to help you watch what you think.
I know that I have a good personality and shapely legs. So, the fact that my breasts are small is not important.
It’s nice to hear him say I look good in this dress. My efforts to dress to flatter my figure are obviously paying off.
I love the fact that my body looks like it belongs to a woman and not a little girl.Banish Crash Dieting
Don’t crash diet because it doesn’t work. What actually happens is this: you only lose a small amount of fat before your body’s protection mechanism swings into action. It thinks that food will be scarce and your body holds on to fat, loses water and slows down your metabolism to conserve energy. When you go back to your normal pattern of eating, you have substantially slowed your metabolism so that it is burning off kilojoules at a snail’s pace. In short, your attempt to fast-track your weight loss backfires, making you prone to put on weight more easily. Instead, be patient and change your lifestyle.
Stand Tall
When you have bad posture, your stomach and breasts look larger while your legs appear shorter. Here’s a trick you can use to improve your posture immediately: imagine that you have a piece of string going up through the top of your head. The moment you picture this, your neck will extend, your tummy will tuck in and you will look slimmer and much more confident.
If you’re trying to break the habit of having such an unkind attitude towards your body, the suggestions made above will be a starting point. In time, you will learn to love yourself a little more every day to the point where you’ll have such a positive outlook that you’ll be a joy to be around.
