A couple of months ago, I posted on my FB business page about how often clients come to me and tell me how much they hate certain body parts.

They’ll say things like they hate their “fat guts” or “fat thighs” or “big butts”, “flabby arms”, etc.

I understand…because I have done this (and sometimes still do…but I’m monitoring my negative self talk more and more lately trying to overcome this bad habit). It’s really hard not to be our own worst critics!

So yesterday I was listening to one of my favorite podcasters Amy Porterfield (and building puzzles of course!).

If you don’t have an online biz, you’re probably not familiar with Amy, but she is an online biz coach who is really smart, (she used to work for Tony Robbins) and her specialty is in social media.

She is so incredibly brilliant  and sweet and gives a TON of valuable advice for us online biz owners.

But she said something yesterday that broke my heart.

She came “clean” about why she has resisted doing more videos on social media to share her knowledge and information.

It’s because of her weight.  

This amazing human being, who helps so many…is feeling so bad about a number on the scale and the way her body looks, that she won’t put herself on video because of the shame she feels.

Wow.  To me that is so unfortunate.

She has so much to offer, has 100,000’s of adoring  fans…and yet holds herself back because of the way she looks.

It’s so maddening that somehow somewhere, whether it was through magazines or TV or now days social media, society told us that unless we look a certain way; we’re not good enough.

I totally get it.   I’ve  spent many a years trying to mold my body into something that is just isn’t.  You can read about my personal experience by clicking here.

I’m starting to realize (and trust me here, I still struggle with body image too), that when we criticize ourselves whether it’s hating our entire body or certain body parts, WE are buying into the bullshit that society wants us to believe!!

It’s high time we step into our own power and take it back and own it!!!!

I know this is easier said than done..no doubt about it.

But, I believe that if we all start to “watch” the thoughts we are thinking about ourselves we can begin to turn this around.

Because if you think about it, negative energy around these words and thoughts that we say to ourselves only attracts more negative energy, thoughts and words.

I mean, have you or anyone else you know made positive changes in their lives by beating themselves down?

As Dr. Dyer says, “You cannot remedy anything by condemning it”.

TRUTH!!!

So instead of hating what we don’t like about ourselves…let’s try appreciating what those “body parts” actually do for us.

If you don’t like your arms or your legs….think about a person who has lost their arms or their legs or are paralyzed etc.

I see it every single day working in a physical therapy clinic.  So many people have lost limbs due to accidents, diabetes, etc.  They would give ANYTHING to have your arms or legs and wouldn’t give a shit what they look like.  They just want to have arms and legs!

To be clear, there is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to change our bodies especially if it’s going to make us healthier and add to quality of life.

But don’t try to fit it into society’s fukked up idea of what we all should look like! 

And please, let’s not let what our bodies and certain body parts look like, keep us from sharing our talents and gifts with the world!

That’s a disservice to not only ourselves, but to the people we can help as well!

So let’s do something to start to  turn this around right now, this very minute.

Grab a piece of paper or a note card, and I want you to write down all of the amazing things your body does for you everyday.  Don’t edit it; just write.

Now put this somewhere where you can see it on a daily basis and take a minute to really read it and feel pure appreciation for  what your body can do.

When you find yourself starting to criticize your body and how it looks, immediately turn those thoughts into thoughts of gratitude because you can’t be both grateful and hateful at the same time.

So stand tall, own your body and your power, and know YOU ARE PERFECT AS YOU ARE!!!!