How to Love the Skin You’re In
In October last year, my little sister Tori turned 21. To celebrate, we decided to rent a house in the Byron hinterland. Now, this house was ah-mazing. It had stunning panoramic views, a heated infinity pool and spa and an outdoor deck the size of my entire apartment, but despite all of these incredible features, the most interesting part of the entire house, was the master bathroom.
Why, you ask?
Well, this particular bathroom had a shower. And this particular shower was COMPLETELY surrounded by floor to ceiling mirrors. There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. Whichever way you turned, there you were, your entire body illuminated by the natural light flooding in through one giant glass wall.
Old me would have bolted straight for the hills at the site of this bad boy but instead, I sucked up my courage, stripped off my clothes and faced myself front on, from every possible angle.
For someone who refused to look down in the shower or stand naked in front of the mirror (except to take naked selfies) for a solid decade of her life, this was a freaking REVELATION. I was finally falling in love with my body, and it felt amazing.
But this kind of shift didn’t happen overnight.
The way we feel about our body has the power to affect everything from our relationships, our career, and even our health.
I know firsthand how debilitating it can be to be at war with your body. I also know how liberating it can be when you fall in love with the skin you’re in. So I’ve come up with 3 simple challenges you can do right now to start building a relationship with your body founded on respect, joy and unconditional love.
1. Everything starts with gratitude. Sometimes we forget what an amazing gift we’ve been given in our bodies, this beautiful vessel for our soul to experience the world around us. Take a moment to think about what a blessing it is to be able to marvel at the beauty of a sunrise, hear the lyrics of your favorite song and communicate openly with those around you.
BODY IMAGE CHALLENGE: Write down 3 parts of your body you are grateful for and why. For example, I am grateful for my voice that lets me share my message with the world.
2. Stop comparing. It's hard in our culture to not get caught up in comparisonitis (wishing we looked more like someone else). Remember, another person’s beauty is not the absence of your own and to hide your authentic self from the world is to rob humanity of something that has never been before and will never be again.
BODY IMAGE CHALLENGE: Take a look at the people you follow on social media. Do they make you feel more confident, or less? If you feel ‘icky’ every time you scroll through instagram, it might be time to do a social media cleanse and get rid of any accounts that don’t inspire you to feel good about yourself.
Every day you spend obsessing over your body, is a day you could have spent building your dream.
3. Redirect your energy. Take all the energy you spend obsessing over your physical appearance and channel into things that make you come alive; start a blog, write a novel, start a revolution. I promise, the less time you spend counting calories and the more you focus on doing the things that light you up, the more your life will change from the inside out.
BODY IMAGE CHALLENGE: Start a creative project. It could be a collection of short stories, a sketch pad full of drawings or a line of your own handmade clutches. Passion projects are good for the soul and you never know where they might lead.
I know how hard it is, in a world that’s constantly trying to tell you that you need to be smaller, thinner or more toned to be worthy of love, respect and attention. But, I promise, your worth isn’t dependent on how your bum looks in a pair of jeans, or the size of the dress you wear out on a Saturday night.
Now it's your turn. What do you love about your body? Let me know in the comments.
