“The reality is that our bodies are constantly changing, and they will never remain exactly the same. If we base our self-worth on something as ever-changing as our bodies, we will forever be on the emotional roller coaster of body obsession and shame.” – Chrissy King
The other day, my wife and I were going through an old shoe box filled with photos chronicling my life from the day I was born up until the day I was married.
This picture-timeline was a fond reminder of the people and places who are now absent from my life, but also highlighted the reality that our bodies are constantly changing as King states above.
I was a cute, curly-haired little boy with an ever-present smile. But puberty was not kind to me as my body seemed to inflate like the Pillsbury Doughboy, my hair seemed to poof above my head like I’d just stuck my finger in an electrical socket and my complexion so overtaken by acne that it looked like a connect the dots project.
Adolescents was definitely a time in my life I would NOT care to relive if given the chance.
But as stated above, our bodies are constantly changing and as time passed and I entered my mid-twenties, things seemed to settle down and even out, though societal bullying and image shaming certainly left its scars.
I’m 45 years old and even today I find myself overly critical of my appearance – now shaming myself over a few extra pounds, grey hairs and a few wrinkles in places they weren’t just ten years ago. When is it time to finally get off this self-defeating roller coaster?
Motivational author Louise Hay once remarked, “You have been criticizing yourself for years and it hasn’t worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens.”
Poet and author Nayyirah Waheed writes, “And I said to my body softly, ‘I want to be your friend.’ It took a long breath and replied, ‘I have been waiting my whole life for this.”
Instagram and body-empowerment star Megan Jayne Crabbe posted, “Hating our bodies is something that we learn, and it sure as hell is something that we can unlearn.”
Our bodies are constantly changing and much like our personal and professional lives, we need to find ways to accept those changes and live as positively as we can. We need to put an end to obsessing over body and appearance perfection, which is unachievable outside of an operating room, to embrace who we are at any given moment and live fully.
Inspirational author Alan Cohen says, “To love yourself right now, just as you are, is to give yourself heaven. Don’t wait until you die. If you wait, you die now. If you love, you live now.”
Our bodies are constantly changing. Now let’s stop wasting precious time and change how we think about ourselves.