Are you in an internal battle with your body?  You know, the kind of battle where you feel your body is not cooperating with you and not doing what you want it to do?

When I was young I HATED my feet.

I now love my feet but I’ll tell you about that later.

MANY of us have an adversarial relationship with our bodies at one point or another.

Whether it is because of our weight, skin appearance, aging, pain, stiffness, injuries or something else, many times in our lives we may find ourselves struggling to fix the body and make it look and feel the way we want it to feel. This “fix-it” attitude is not a loving one. It’s one that emerges from fault-finding.

Frankly, if this weren’t the case for so many people, the plastic surgery and weight-loss industries would not exist. They are billion-dollar markets because people are addicted to buying the “thing” that will fix their body.

Women especially tend to have an adversarial relationship with their bodies because of the emphasis on their looks. In general, men don’t tend to have quite the contentious relationship that women seem to have with their bodies.

What happens to you when you look in the mirror?

Do you have positive feelings and say nice things to yourself? Or do you find all of the flaws and tell yourself what you wish were different? Are you even hating what you see?

When you lather up in the shower, what happens when you touch your belly or thighs?

Do you have nice feelings and appreciate your body for all it is capable of doing? Or do you feel downright rejection? Do you pinch at the folds of your fat?

What happens if your skin, joints or muscles aren’t quite as supple, smooth and strong as you’d like?

Do you appreciate them as they are and thank them for how well they serve you? Or do you find yourself lamenting their appearance or sensation?

Pay attention to this, my friend:

YOUR BODY IS ALWAYS RESPONDING TO YOUR ATTITUDE AND YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT IT.

We are tempted to think that if the body felt and looked better, we’d feel more positively about it. But in reality it’s the other way around: when you are more positive and loving towards your body, it starts to look and feel better.

Works every time.

If you dislike your body, you are subconsciously creating the body you dislike. You’ll be drawn to foods, habits, behaviors and attitudes that will perpetuate that.

When you choose to be kind and loving to your body, you will be drawn to foods, habits, behaviors and attitudes that will bring it greater health, beauty and wellbeing.

Back to my feet…

When I was young I HATED my feet. Every time I looked at my feet, my toes were too long and ugly. And to top it off, I was noticing that both of my feet were developing bunions.

At around 22 or 23 years old I decided that I was going to start loving my feet. It was as simple as that. I simply chose to start loving my feet and I began getting pedicures. I also bought shoes that made my feet feel good and look cute as well.

Within a short period of time I started to notice that I was no longer bothered by the appearance of my feet, and in fact I was now starting to like them. Not only that but my toes had straightened and it wasn’t looking like I was getting bunions after all.

And as a funny family coincidence, later in life I learned that one of my sisters also had a similar experience. Going from loathing her feet to choosing to love them.

Your body responds to your thoughts and attitudes, not the other way around. You get to choose.

STOP WAITING FOR YOUR BODY TO CHANGE SO YOU CAN ACCEPT IT.

Your homework

Look in the mirror today and find something nice to say. Is it hard or is it easy? Say it out loud. Notice how you feel saying this.