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People come in all shapes and sizes. Just like the variety of colors and blossoms makes a garden more stunning, so too do your unique features make the world a more beautiful place.
But, sometimes it’s not so easy to cultivate true body positivity and hush that inner critic. According to a blog on Psychology Today, it takes mindfulness to recognize destructive self-talk and replace your inner dialogue with kinder words. So, learn to love the skin you're in with these tips to find inner acceptance.
Reframe Your Perception
When you feel insecure in your own skin, it can make you feel unworthy of love, friendship, or joy. Acceptance can feel like a fantasy. And those well-meaning but empty phrases like “just love yourself” or “you’re in control,” only make you feel more isolated.
So, what’s the secret code to confidence? Not through a motivational quote, but through psychology. According to the Living Dappled website, finding self-acceptance starts with changing your perception.
Poor body image and low self-esteem can feel tough. But, the trauma doesn’t come from objective reality. It comes from your perception of it; your thoughts, feelings, and actions surrounding your insecurities create a poor self-image. It’s your outlook, not the situation itself, that makes you feel uncomfortable and unconfident.
Move from Self-Critic to Self-Champion
You can’t always change your body, but you can change your relationship with it. Psychology Today recommends paying closer attention to the way you speak about your body. Notice those moments when you put yourself down. Take pause and replace that dialogue with gentler phrases. Remind yourself that everyone can feel down sometimes, and the way you look doesn’t determine your value as a person.
Remember that body positivity doesn’t mean pretending that everything’s perfect. Loving the skin you’re in starts with taking proactive approaches to develop a more positive relationship with your body. Becoming aware of the way you speak about yourself can help develop kinder, gentler ways of self-talk. Over time, you can learn to change those mental habits of self-ridicule by replacing them with kinder, more accepting thoughts.
Let Go of Perfection
Society often imposes strict beauty standards that border on perfection. From models on the runway, to filters on Instagram and Photoshopped magazine covers, your mind is constantly bombarded with conventionalities of what you should look like. A blog on Empoword Journalism points out that when you don’t live up to these impossible standards, it can make you feel inadequate and undesirable.
Take a mindful approach to the information you’re consuming, suggests verywell mind. Maybe it’s time to do a little cleanup on your social media accounts and unfollow those that may impact your body image. Instead, follow people that uplift you and make you feel good about the body that you’re in. This can help eliminate influences that impact your body image and replace them with those that encourage body positivity.
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