When you dislike your looks, it is understandable that you want to change your appearance. You probably have spent a lot of time thinking about how you would like to change your body, to ultimately change your life, right?
However, body image has little to do with the size of your body and is more about how you think about the size of your body. Therefore, changing your body image involves an attitude adjustment instead of an appearance adjustment. It means feeling at home in your own skin rather than separated from your own body. Body image is not what you look like. It has to do with your relationship with your body, which includes:
- How you think about your body
- What you believe about your body
- How you perceive your body
- How you feel about your body
- And how you treat your body
Here are five steps to work on that attitude adjustment to change your body image and feel at home in your own skin!
Step One: Challenge Your Thoughts
- How are you thinking about your body that is not helping you?
- How could you reframe that dialogue?
Step Two: Question Your Beliefs
- Is what you believe about your body true?
- Who taught you this?
- How could that be wrong?
Step Three: Challenge Your Perception
- What perceptions about your body make your life harder than it needs to be?
- Could you think otherwise?
Step Four: Question Your Feelings
- Your feelings are ALWAYS valid, and it is important to recognize where those feelings are coming from.
- What could you be assuming that is causing these feelings?
Step Five: Look at Your Actions
- What can you do differently this week to show more respect, care, and kindness toward your body?
The goal here is not never to have a bad body image day again. That is unrealistic. However, the goal is to improve at managing those bad body image days by practicing the above steps!
