hold yourself accountable

Has this ever happened to you? You are bouncing along in life, not quite happy with how you look. You think if only I could lose ten pounds I would be good. Or, you’re not quite sure you like how your legs look. You think if I could just change the shape a little bit I would be good. Or, you think if I could just tighten up my butt a little I would be good. Oh, and what about that armpit fat. If I could get rid of that I would be good. A new diet comes along and you think, hmmm, maybe this is the thing that will help me lose the ten pound and then I’ll be good. You feel like you see the light at the end of that tunnel of darkness. If I could just…

It doesn’t really work that way though. Let’s say you lose ten pounds. Are you going to be happy? What’s the next thing? If I could lose 5 more pounds I would be good. If that little bit of armpit fat was gone I would be good. You know what? That’s pretty much bullshit. Until you figure out down deep in your core, in the nuts and bolts of your being, none of that stuff is going to make you happy. News flash: there is always going to be something about yourself you don’t like, which is sad. The sooner you start accepting yourself for what you are and realize you are the only one who can examine, the only one who can dig, the only one who can root around, and the only one who can make that change, the better off you will be. Nobody else can do it for you. Until you realize that and realize the why behind it you will always be looking and searching for the next thing. You will be continually searching for the one thing that you think is going to do it for you, but in reality it’s you. You have held the key to that lock all along. We need to start accepting our bodies and stop hating our bodies. Don’t confuse your body image with your self image. Just because your body doesn’t look the way you want it to right now, does that make you a bad person? Hell no! If you don’t like the direction things are going, pivot. Try something else. Get your head right.

Take responsibility. Hold yourself accountable. You are the only one who can make yourself change. No diet, no new gadget, no new workout DVD is going to do that for you. Only you can do that for you. You are the only one who can truly make yourself happier with how you look. It can take a lot of work to change those thoughts. It can take a lot of work to change period. Once you figure yourself out on the inside the outside is going to change.

I saw this quote the other day and I think it is absolutely amazing and so true: “Value aesthetics over health and you end up with neither. Value health over aesthetics and you end up with a high degree of both.” This is so relevant. It’s so important for not only women, but everyone to change their way of thinking when it comes to their bodies. Get it figured out on the inside and the outside will come around. Your self worth does not depend on how your body looks. Period.