The path forward may not always be clear, and there are going to be many things that happen that could be out of our control. The most important thing to keep in mind is to adapt to changes and to accept them, but most importantly, to accept yourself.
This week over at my Instagram page, also called Common Sense Living, I am focusing on body positivity and sharing some positive influences to help us accept our own bodies.
A lot of us have a hard time accepting our bodies as they are, and we strive to change them through diet and exercise, or even surgery. The problem is we are bombarded with explicit and implicit messages that we should look a certain way and that we are not enough as our own natural selves.
However, we can address these feelings with a bit of acceptance, no matter how our situation changes.
Our Body
As the famous saying goes "Your body is a temple", and yet in today's society, we treat it like a trash can. We often neglect it and feed ourselves fast food or we deprive it of food, either to lose weight and "look better" or because we put other tasks first.
These mentalities need to change because they are inherently toxic. Our body is in a constant state of flux during all stages of our lives. Whether we are teens, adults, or (for us ladies) post-menopausal, your body is in a constant state of change. Why then can we not change the way we see our bodies?
In all stages of our life, our body carries us through the motions and allows us to do the things we often take for granted. Think about it, when was the last time you were grateful for taking a breath or even just walking? Often we get so caught up in the microcosm of our minds and our everyday hustle that we don't stop to appreciate our body, and all that it does for us.
As well, sometimes we focus on our bodies a bit too much. We criticize them for all the imperfections they have and we want to change them to make them thinner or bigger. In the process, we focus less on who we are and try to change into something else. As a result, we focus so much on what we eat and how much we exercise, that we sometimes even develop unhealthy habits in the process.
However, we have to have a certain awareness over our own thinking and know whether it is serving us or not. If not, then we must adapt the way we think and the way that we treat our bodies. If we find that we are doing more harm than good, for example being in so much of a calorie deficit that we feel cold and hungry all the time, then it is time to change that. Life is about adapting to different situations, and if your body is not happy, then you need to adapt.
If we change our thinking about our bodies, this can lead to a whole new level of clarity and acceptance. We can break free from the diet mentality and instead live a healthier, fuller life by eating whole foods most of the time, and indulging without guilt for all the other times.
Most of all, in accepting our bodies for how they are, we can be grateful for all that they do for us. This in turn, could even make us more at peace with our own self.
Our Life
Life, just like our bodies, is ever-changing. So it is normal that we have all felt some degree of hope and helplessness in our lives.
However, we have the choice to either see a problem as an obstacle, or to see it as a way of learning. We must ask ourselves "What can I learn from this hardship?"
Of course, it is totally okay to feel the full extent of your emotions, because nothing is worse than not acknowledging how you feel. The point is we cannot allow tough situations to control our lives.
If we deny the existence of a problem, it will eventually boil to the surface sooner or later, and could result in us hurting the ones we love. We are the only ones who can control the direction our life takes. Life does not just happen to us, it is what you make of it. So the sooner we accept the problem, the sooner we have the power to change our direction and solve it.
Staying stuck is a choice, although sometimes it may feel like the only option. We must accept problems as such, but see them as a necessary hardship that helps us to develop our future selves.
In short, acceptance and change is a natural part of a healthy life. In order for any problem to be solved, it must first be acknowledged, and only then can it be addressed.