Most of us are so overwhelmed with the influx of retouched “perfect” photos of celebrities and influencers that we forget to appreciate our own bodies and abilities. We forget to be grateful for having the ability to walk, dance, or hug, unrelated to the size or shape of our bodies. Then again, we forget to be thankful for our health and wellbeing even when our bodies aren’t perfect, at least not by those media-imposed, yet fake standards.
While we’re busy berating ourselves for being human, our body image suffers, and so does our confidence. If you’ve noticed that you no longer smile when you look at yourself in the mirror, or that you’re ashamed of your appearance, whether it’s your curves, your imperfect teeth, your overall physique, or your receding hairline, it’s time to step up your self-care. Here, we’ll suggest a few self-healing, self-loving strategies to cherish yourself on the road to growth, so that you can appreciate yourself today while you work for a stronger, more loving you of tomorrow.
Exercise as your confidence-booster
While many people kick-start a training routine out of simple vanity, many begin to realize the full potential regular physical exercise can have on your mental state, emotional wellbeing, and spiritual peace. While taking care of your body through exercise does indeed help work on your physical imperfections, it also serves as a natural confidence-booster.
Whether you choose the spiritual and physical wealth of yoga, or you find yourself in martial arts, you can unlock your mind’s potential by challenging your body physically. Merely facing the challenges and the struggles of training puts your mind in a new state, allowing you to appreciate the effort you’re capable of.
Mindful meditation to the rescue
How do you envision confidence? Is it a scene from your life that you’re most proud of, or a particular person you’ve met? Whatever it is, you can start visualizing your own epitome of confidence when you meditate. Start building your own little library of confidence-boosting visualization sequences to help you grow your self-esteem.
Over time, this concept of confidence will evolve, so you can journal about the process as you discover what confidence stands for in your own mental dictionary. This is your chance to redefine it by your own terms, so that you can begin to recognize all the ways in which you exhibit this trait and the way you’ve overcome so many challenges in life already.
Nourishing your body inside and out
In addition to regular exercise, your daily menu greatly reflects your self-respect and self-esteem. It mimics just how much you appreciate your body. If you treat it with love and care by choosing nourishing foods, you respect and treasure your temple. If you, on the other hand, binge-eat on sugar-packed foods, your body has no fuel, no energy, and no way to preserve your long-term health and wellbeing. In the end, you end up consuming too little protein, and too many unhealthy carbs.
Let your nutrition work hand in hand with your training and introduce nutritious whey protein to make sure that you consume enough of this essential macronutrient in your diet. Choose healthy, plant-based carbs that will give you energy as well as fiber and all the vitamins and minerals your immune system needs. Love your body by carving out a menu that gives you what you need to stay consistent with your workouts and that enables you to sleep well, stay resilient, and enjoy life.
Affirmations to build your mindset
Much like your physical actions, such as nutrition and exercise reflect your mindset, there are spiritual and mental exercises you can use to your advantage. Your spiritual self-care is part of your overall self-care practice, especially when you’re dealing with a lack of confidence and self-esteem.
In addition to gratitude, you can use affirmations to elicit positive images about yourself and remind yourself of everything you love about your body. By reshaping the language you use to describe yourself, and by slowly embracing a different mindset, you’ll give yourself the right level of empowerment to persevere.
Surround yourself with love and support
Finally, no man is an island, as the old saying goes. There is no need to be alone in your pursuits. Why not surround yourself with people who recognize your qualities and aspirations, and who are happy to support you in those pursuits?
Share your goals with your friends and family, ask them for advice – you never know where a valuable lesson might be hiding. People can often share their own road to greater confidence, so practical advice in addition to ongoing support can be found when you look in the right places.
While it’s important to remember that you are beautiful and worthy of love no matter how you look like, the desire to grow and improve is always an excellent opportunity to boost your confidence, as well as your health. As you work to build a stronger, leaner physique, you can still cherish yourself and appreciate your body for all that it provides for you.
Your body is, after all, your mind’s home and the temple of your spirit, thus deserving of the effort you invest to grow as a person and as a spiritual being. Overcoming your insecurities on your way to greater physical and emotional health is a beautiful path to greater gratitude and self-love, so don’t fear the challenge – embrace it and let yourself thrive.