In the hustle to lose weight or shape up it’s easy to lose sight of our own loveliness. We want to be thinner, beach body ready (heaven forbid our winter body should see sunlight) and in the process it’s easy to think we’ll get there quicker if we shame ourselves into it. We skip whole meals, food groups or even go days without food, hello juice cleanse, in the quest to be something other.
I frequently remind my children to be gentle on themselves. To not berate themselves when they feel they are failing, it’s something I think we could all do with reminding ourselves. It’s all too easy to let our inner critic run amok. To let feelings of shame and guilt dictate our inner monologue.
What if we could move to a place where we did recognise our own loveliness and we treated ourselves accordingly. When we choose to nourish and nurture ourselves we find that a healthy lifestyle occurs effortlessly. We eat healthily because we deserve it, not because we need to be shamed into a smaller dress size. We can choose to eat meals that leave us feeling nourished because we want to fuel our bodies for the demands it will face during the day. We choose to move our bodies to strengthen and protect them. We sleep when we’re tired, rather than fuelling our bodies with caffeine, because we listen to what our bodies are telling us.
If you could reteach yourself your own loveliness. What would you see? How would that feel? Practise little ways to introduce self care daily, it’s more than just a buzz word or a social media movement. We deserve to be loved and looked after but it starts with us deciding to do that for ourselves first. What small step could you take today that would move you away from shame and guilt and closer to feeling loved and nurtured?
With love,
Claire x