You Don't Need Fixing, Your Thinking Needs Fixing

You are perfect as you are. How many times have you heard or read this? So many times that the message is either ignored or lost? Lost in a sea of "perfect as you are" inspirational quotes printed atop serene images of landscapes, seascapes and mountainscapes? So many that perhaps you just want to es-scape?

But don't be so quick to roll your eyes and sigh a defeated sigh.

For the sake of generations to come, we must come to terms with who we are and what we look like. No matter if we're shaped like fruit, time immemorial or the bloody newspaper!

For today, let's just focus on the body. Tough as that might be.

You know what I'm talking about. The so-called saddlebags for hips. The thunder thighs for legs. The gunny sack for abdominals.

These were the unflattering terms used to describe the "problem" areas of the body when I was growing up.

And these unhealthy body image messages weren't coming so much from commercials. Television didn't have nearly the impact on us then as it does today.

These messages were hammered into us much closer to home.

Over Thanksgiving dinner when we took that extra scoop of gravy for our potatoes. Or when we put on the first pair of shorts for the summer season. Or when, heaven forbid, we slipped into our bathing suit that exposed almost every inch of us.

It was well-intentioned family members who did the most damage. Their misguided attempts at motivation fueled an entire generation of women who could never be happy with the way they looked.

And now we've perpetuated that message to the generations behind us.

A few weeks ago, Target (as in the store) was aptly nailed for posting an image of a young woman with her crotch area photo-shopped to give her that highly-sought-after but mythical "thigh gap". For those of you who don't know, that's the non-existent space between the inner thighs when standing with legs together.

And though the not enough trend is not exclusive to girls, the fact is, we don't tell boys that they must have a gap between their thighs in order to be worthy. 

The offensive picture that Target used in their ad not only sends unrealistic, mostly unattainable expectations to girls. It feeds on the I'm not enough way of thinking. It sets girls up for failure, while setting up the diet and exercise industries with yet another meme for profits.

Repeat after me: You don't need to "fix" the part of your body you've been battling with. You need to stop battling with your body and "fix" your thinking.

Fact is, you really are perfect as you are. Whether you're shaped like an oval, a rectangle, an hourglass, a circle, or a triangle...no mater what geometrical design you've been put into, you have value.

You are enough.
 
Below are some inspirational quotes to replace some of your negative thoughts. Copy them. Enlarge them. Print them. Print them in multiples. Print them on lovely shaded paper, if you like.

Place them strategically around your space. Tape one to the glove box of your car. One on your computer screen. Your desk. Anywhere and everywhere.

Don't forget the fridge. And the pantry. Not because you're trying to stop yourself from feeding yourself, but to remind yourself to nourish the self. To remind yourself that you are enough. Just the way you are. Perfect the way you are.

Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are.
~Marilyn Monroe

The worst loneliness is to not be comfortable with yourself.
~Mark Twain

We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.
~Dalai Lama XIV

The most terrifying thing is to accept oneself completely.
~C G Jung

You're always with yourself, so you might as well enjoy the company.
~Diane Von Furstenberg

I now see how owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing that we will ever do.
~Brene Brown

You are imperfect, permanently and inevitably flawed. And you are beautiful.
~Amy Bloom

No amount of self-improvement can make up for any lack of self-acceptance.
~Robert Holden

Over the last few years, my comfort level with how I look has improved. My age has helped. You get used to yourself and accept yourself.
~Lynn Redgrave

Celebrate who you are in your deepest heart. Love yourself and the world will love you.
~Amy Leigh Mercree