Body image issues

Okay ladies pretty much ALL of us have some kind of issue with ourselves. I was talking to my sister today about it and there seems to be this secret code that doesn't help any either. Women have this thing, we almost never say something that is ALL positive about ourselves. We might mention something we like about ourselves or a new item or something and then feel compelled to knock some other body part, or issue down to make it seem like we are "real". We also teasingly tear each other apart in guise of friendly banter. I'm not talking about best friends chatting, I'm talking about groups of women who are acquainted with each other somewhat. If one person looks nice one of the most common "compliments" is often "oh I hate you because you look so great and now I feel frumpy/ugly/fat/gross etc"

The thing is that all of us deserve to feel good about something and ripping on each other doesn't really help anyone.  Most of us have heard the line that you don't know what battles someone else is fighting so be nice or something like that and its so true. When you run into someone who looks super cute and feel a little insecure you might not know that she was up all night with a screaming baby or some other mind numbing problem and as her own form of therapy put on the cutest outfit she could scrounge up and put on some makeup and did her hear and went to Walmart for a stroll to keep herself from driving off a bridge.

Years ago I ran into some quote or book or something or other that encouraged me to enjoy things that are special and not to put that off for only "special" occasions. Today is special and if we don't reward ourselves in little ways and build some self love into our lives we kind of forget how I think. Don't wait for next year or tomorrow. Who cares if you think you need to lose 10 lbs find something that makes you feel pretty and wear it today. Surround yourself with reminders that you are loved. This is especially important if you don't have a lot of people telling you those things or are often very stressed out. You need comfort and beauty and peace in your life and some of it comes from choosing consciously to cultivate them as parts of your life.

The funny thing is that even though we think everyone can see our flaws, many of them don't stand out as much as we think. That and if anything we highlight them by either talking about them or trying to cover them up in ways that actually draw attention to them. Its amazing to hear people talk because the ones you think really are lovely are often the ones who are struggling the most to accept themselves.

I am working really hard an a next post about how I managed to maintain and regain my weight through having kids. I've had a lot of negative and some positive interactions with people about it and truly thought that maybe I was just lucky and worried that I was appearing conceited or something when people asked me how I did it. It took a lengthy conversation for me to realize that in some ways I maybe am lucky in that area but its not all dumb luck. I have worked very hard at creating an atmosphere where I consistently win in that area. Like any skill or goal I have had to rethink and tweak my lifestyle as I go through different experiences. There is no magic about it we build on success and practice makes perfect. If we concentrate on building ourselves and others up we will improve and see improvement in others too. There will always be struggles and hurdles and setbacks too and as long as we keep working we will continue to figure out things and learn new things along the way.

Climb ON sisters and friends!!!