When was the last time you got to the top of a flight of stairs, stopped, looked down at your legs, and said “thank you for getting me up those stairs?” When was the last time you finished those last few strides of your run with everything you had in your heart and soul and truly allowed yourself to become immersed in your achievement and thankful that you have a body that allows you to do such miraculous things?

Now, let me ask you something else… when was the last time you looked in the mirror and said something negative to  the image staring back? When was the last time you put on an outfit and muttered something bad about yourself as you changed into something less form-fitting, something to hide your “flaws?” When was the last time you spent more time WISHING you could change something about yourself than actually WORKING to change it?

Unfortunately, we live in a world where we are surrounded by negative self-talk. We live in a society where it is more common to hate yourself than it is to love yourself. In fact, we live in a society where loving yourself is frowned upon and seen as “vain” or “conceited.” While there IS such thing as loving yourself a little too much, there is a much larger problem in our world where we don’t love ourselves nearly enough. Day in and day out we tell ourselves that things would be so much better if we were skinnier, easier if we were prettier, more enjoyable if we owned that pair of shoes. We live in a world of “would be’s” and “ifs” rather than living in a would of “could be’s” and “cans”.

Loving yourself can be hard. There are so many days where I catch myself speaking negatively about myself, avoiding compliments, etc. Why is it that we can be the nicest, most supportive person in the world to the people around us, yet we are our own toughest critics? Why is it so easy for us to justify situations when they involve our loved ones, yet if the same situation arises involving ourselves it is so easy to be angry or frustrated? I have the hardest time forgiving myself for the silliest things that never in a MILLION years would I hold against someone else.

Can you imagine what a world would be like where we held our friends to the standards that we hold ourselves? My friend ate an extra cookie last night? Better make sure she starves all day tomorrow to make up for it. You skipped the gym last night? Wow, I can tell. You actually look really fat this morning since you missed one workout.
SHEESH! Take me back to the world where we love our friends and support them and care about their happiness and want to make their worlds a better place.

NOW, let’s create a world where we treat ourselves like the people we love the most in life. You ate an extra cookie? Hey, it happens…you’re human! You skipped a workout last night? It better have been because you were taking a bubble bath while enjoying a glass of wine! If we aren’t our own best friend, who will be? Who is responsible for our happiness, our mindset, our overall opinion of ourself? That’s right…we are. We hold the power to be our toughest critic or our own best friend. And while it’s great to have goals and guidance throughout our life, it’s better to have someone who loves you even when you slip off track.

xoxo Mac