Body Image: What you Focus on Expands

You aren’t alone if you don’t feel great about your body.  

It’s so easy to be self-critical and get hung up on perceived flaws. Poor body image can be all-consuming. 😰 Focusing on what you don’t like has a way of negatively affecting your outlook on your whole day.

Changing these thoughts takes practice, just like changing any other unwanted habit.   If you’ve lived for years repeating to yourself how fat your thighs are, it’s going to take effort and time to alter that automatic pattern of thinking.

But you can do it. Your body is where you live. It only makes sense to treat it with kindness. 🤗

Speak to it and care for it with love and gratitude and your world will change.

🤔 But how to start changing thoughts of judgment?

🥰 Begin with thoughts of gratitude.

➡️ What you focus on expands.

Shift your perspective to see the good… and you will see more and more good things.

It’s up to you to tune your radio dial to a new frequency. Here’s what I mean:

1️⃣ Stop zeroing in on what you hate.  Do not analyze, obsess over or poke at the parts that bother you. You have to make the decision that you’re going to stop. Understand that what you’re focusing on is not helpful. Putting your attention on these things brings up feelings like anger, anxiety, shame and frustration. Not only are these unpleasant ways to feel, but you’re activating stress hormones that over time can contribute to issues like weight gain, poor sleep, digestive problems, difficulty concentrating, anxiety and depression.

See how what you focus on expands?

2️⃣ Instead– What are you grateful for?  Notice what you like about yourself but also look at what you don’t love from a new perspective: an attitude of gratitude. The legs you see as too short, too skinny, too fat– they let you walk, run, pedal, skate, dance and get you where you want to go. The arms you wish had no flab– they carry bags of groceries and hug your loved ones (BTW, that flab is relaxed muscle). Go through everything and find a reason to thank them all, your eyes, ears, nose and toes. Your lungs, brain, heart and bones. This resets your mindset back to what is really important in life.

See how different you feel when you shift your focus to gratitude? 🙏

😁 Gratitude creates “positive vibes” which are magnetic and will attract more happiness. 

It’s a practice that staying consistent with day after day will change you.

It’s impossible to feel both judgmental and grateful simultaneously.

You choose how you would like to see things and how to think. 

Your thoughts will alter your reality. 

Feeling gratitude instead of criticism towards your body will impact your daily life choices. 

When you’re living in a body you accept and appreciate, you’ll be more at peace with food and eating.

You’ll make taking care of yourself a priority.  It’s hard to do these things when you’re battling yourself.

Thoughts of gratitude create a change in attitude.💖

All you have to do is decide to. 🥰