Love Your Body

Day 97

“You are imperfect, permanently and inevitably flawed. And you are beautiful.”

– Amy Bloom

There is nothing more critical to your happiness than self-acceptance and self-love. I’ve said this before, you’ve heard it before, and nothing else I can ever tell you about how to manifest the life of your dreams is as important as this. Part of that self-acceptance is to love the way you look, and to love your body as it is. It’s fine to work towards whatever ideal you want, but you must first love and accept your body the way it is. If you don’t, you will not be able to manifest anything. Period.

I know, that sounds crazy, but hear me out. In order to manifest anything in your life, you must first believe that you have already received it. Only after you truly believe it is yours, will it materialize. This is the Law of Attraction in a nutshell. So what in the world does that have to do with how you look?

When you want something desperately, but you don’t believe you have it, you’re trying to create from a state of lack, which can never manifest your desire, because you are sending out vibes of not having, and the Universe will respond with more not having. You must have an abundant mindset in order to attract more abundance.

We live in a world where we judge ourselves against the unreal images of beauty and body that we see in the media. We struggle to try to look like the air-brushed figures we see in magazines and movies. Of course, these are unattainable and unrealistic goals since the people portrayed with “perfect figures” don’t really look that way in real life either. If you fail to meet these expectations, you become more unhappy with your appearance, you lose your self-confidence, and develop a subconscious belief that you’re not good enough. Then you send out vibes to the Universe that you don’t deserve the best. This lack mindset will attract more lack into your life.

Thankfully, for the last several years, there has been more attention and awareness on healthy body image in the media. Legislation to create health standards and workplace protections for professional models in California cleared its first hurdle today, and that’s great news for all of us. It’s a positive step in the growing voice to change how we define beauty.

Many celebrities have joined in with their own messages about beauty, standing up to say that body-shaming is unacceptable, and that beauty is not limited to a particular size. This week, British model Iskra Lawrence responded to being called a “fat cow” on Instagram with this photo and video. In an interview with Elle magazine, Lawrence said that she believed she couldn’t realize her dreams because of her body. Fortunately, she got over it, and “eventually learned you are more than your body. Your body’s your home, and you need to love and respect it. You are meant to be in that body, so look after it, love it, and don’t let it be the reason for not doing something.”

Amy Schemer joined the party again this week, sending her message that beauty comes in all different shapes and sizes.

“There is nothing more rare, nor more beautiful, than a woman being unapologetically herself; comfortable in her perfect imperfection. To me, that is the true essence of beauty.”

– Steve Maraboli

I also came across the beautiful young woman in the center of today’s feature image who has an inspiring message about embracing your beauty. Lucy Moore won a modeling competition to represent a British lingerie company. Although this video is a few years old, her message “that everybody can look good in their own way” is timeless.

I’ve struggled with my body image for most of my adult life. Only now is the message really starting to sink in for me that I am ok just the way I am. Don’t wait for others’ approval or acceptance of your appearance. Look in the mirror and see your imperfect perfection for what it is: Beautiful.

“People often say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and I say that the most liberating thing about beauty is realizing you are the beholder.

– Salma Hayek

Love yourself. Love your body. Manifest the life of your dreams.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!