Healthy Living: Be Gentle
To be confident in your own skin is to be free to be yourself. This is something I struggle with.
I struggle with my postpartum, stretch-mark-ridden-body. I don't always feel confident in myself and often worry about what others think of me for the way I live my life. I struggle with being an introvert in a world that for some reason thinks being extroverted is best.
We are constantly bombarded by media of all kinds telling us how we are to act, dress, talk, look...what to buy, how to exercise and diet....the list goes on and on and on. Social media has only grown this bombardment. Now, everyone seems to have an agenda. Everyone is promoting something. People think that sharing their expensive weight loss/healthy living/exercise plans and products is promoting a healthier lifestyle, and continually sharing transformation photos is a way to motivate others to be more healthy and show them they can do anything.
But, is that true? Is this truly a healthy way of living? Is this truly the way to encourage oneself and others toward that goal?
I think our culture promotes an expensive and unhealthy mentality. It's not healthy to obsessively work out. It's not healthy to obsessively post transformation photos. It's not encouragement to others. It makes others feel pressured to buy more and feel worse about the bodies God has given them. It ties people to a specific plan and lifestyle. This is not to say that people who follow certain plans, diets or use specific supplements don't see results or feel good about themselves. I'm not casting judgment here. It's just that for people like me, this mentality is not really helpful.
What IS healthy is making positive choices for yourself. What IS healthy is eating a balanced diet, but still enjoying the occasional sweet. What IS healthy is exercising at whatever level you feel comfortable with. What IS healthy is loving your body, wherever it's at, and making wise choices to care for yourself mentally and physically. What IS healthy is showing kindness, love and showering words of encouragement on others. This is motivation and progress and transformation. But you know? As much as I struggle with confidence in my body and who I am sometimes, I am also learning to embrace who I am. I'm learning that peer pressure is freaking ridiculous and doesn't matter at all. I'm learning a lot about myself.
So, a word of encouragement, if you're like me, and you struggle with body image and self worth in a culture obsessed with presenting a certain image, remember that it's not about your weight, shape, or size. It's not about perfection or the next biggest health fad. It's not about forcing yourself to be an extrovert if you're not one, or forcing yourself to back off and be quiet if you're a loud and bubbly extrovert.
It's about learning to be free and embrace living life as the person God created you to be. Its about learning what your mind and body need. It's about loving and encouraging and helping others. It's about being gentle with yourself and caring for yourself, because THAT is healthy.