Body image is getting a lot of press as of late. As it should! I recently enjoyed the Amy Poehler video about feeling good about your body. She gave great advice about how girls should feel about their bodies. I have often wondered how much women could and would accomplish if our focus was less on how we look and more on what we can do to make a difference. I think that our obsession with the appearance of our body is a huge waste of time and precious energy.
Please, don’t get me wrong, I don’t blame women for being concerned about their body image or even being obsessed by it. In our society we are bombarded with the messaging that our body is our currency. We have been hypnotized to believe that it is our body shape, size and beauty that makes us worthy of love and approval. We are constantly judging ourselves and each other. Are we too skinny, too fat, too tall, the right shape, the right color? It goes on and on. But in order to be the Leader that you were born to be, whether you are leading yourself to be the greatest version of you, leading your children and family, or if you’re leading your tribe you MUST disengage from the mass messaging about who you need to be and what makes you worthy of love and approval.
You were born beautiful and unique! Every moment you spend in self-loathing about your body (or anything) is a moment that you could have spent lifting yourself or someone else up. Loving your body frees up your mind to make a difference in the world.
Body image is hugely important and having a poor body image is extremely dangerous. When a girl or woman is dependent on the love and approval of another she becomes extremely vulnerable to those who want to victimize her. Victimizers know how to work women and girls who do not value themselves. Women also become more dangerous to themselves when she is blind to her value, as they are more likely to act out in self-sabotaging ways, often turning to eating disorders, drugs, over-exercising, or promiscuity just to feel good enough to be loved.
Every time you criticize your body you are setting an example for the next generation and they will set the example for the generation after that. Let’s stop the cycle. It’s imperative that we do!!!
I invite you to start a Body Love Revolution. Watch the body image video and tap along every day. Share this video with every woman you know. Invite your mother, your daughter and your girlfriends, support one another to transform your body image. Click here to watch the video. Please share and pass it along to the women you care most about.
In Light,
Michelle