We all do it. Men. Women. Young and old. I certainly am guilty of it almost daily. We compare ourselves to other people. We wish we were different - better in some way. We - I am so guilty of this! - nit pick at our weak areas and obsess over how to make them perfect. Speaking personally here: I am full swing into my 40's, have stretched my abdomen out to max capacity twice for my children, and come from a line of stocky builds - I am never going to look like this amazing little picture here. But, how can we be satisfied with what we were given? Not just satisfied, but completely happy?
I am studying Sports Nutrition at the moment and read something the other night that is the inspiration for today's post. I want to share it with you. It's from Sports Nutrition Guidebook by Nancy Clark. She says:
"We come in sizes and shapes unique to our genetic makeup. Just as some of us have thick hair, others have thin hair. Some of us have blue eyes, and others have brown eyes. No one seems to care about hair thickness or eye color, but the media have made us all care about body fatness. As a result, too many self-conscious people feel inadequate because of repeated failures at transforming themselves into a shape they aren't meant to be.
To put into perspective how irrelevant body shape or size is, think about a person who has been most influential in our life. does that person's weight modify your relationship with him or her in any way? Likely not. I suspect that there are few (if any) people in your life for whom your feelings are based solely on their appearance."
Exercise to be strong and healthy. Eat to fuel your body and give it the nutrients it needs. Think about what your body can do for you and all of the wonderful things you can accomplish with it. Focus on the parts of your body that you do like, instead of the ones you don't. Instead of concentrating on your weight, or you washboard abs, get your body into the shape it needs to be in for you to participate in anything you want to. You want to take surfing lessons in Maui? Yup, can do. Does camping with the kids/grand-kids sound like a great weekend? You can do that! Pull yourself out of a burning building. Heck yes, life saved!! Still being able to take care of yourself at the age of 90? That is my goal.
Don't be too hard on yourself, and for heavens sake don't compare yourself to someone else, because you aren't that person. You are unique and have your own set of skills that are wonderful. It would be a very boring world indeed if we were all the same.
I also saw a video this week that hit home with me, and made me appreciate the wonderful body that I have even more. We are all beautiful in our own unique ways. So, stop looking at your imperfections and start seeing the things that make you who you are. I am trying to be better at this every day.
