Learning and implementing body positivity is both difficult and important. After years of being conditioned to constantly criticize our own bodies and the bodies of others, it is a complicated process to strip away the harsh filters we have been judging our appearance through. However, becoming more body positive does not mean that you will instantly become infallibly confident in your body and all the features that have for most of your life, been insecurities.
You may feel like a hypocrite for encouraging the idea that all bodies are beautiful and that there is no ‘normal’, while still having moments when you are ashamed of parts of yourself that don’t fit the beauty ‘ideal’. It is frustrating to put so much energy into building confidence in your appearance, just to wake up one morning feeling like every drop of it has been drained from you. It is important to realise that, because of things out of your control, every person’s self-love will falter at some point. Feeling like this is does not make you a failure, and does not undermine your advocation of body positivity for all.
Personally, I am often disheartened by the fact that no matter how much progress in body confidence I make, insecurities always reappear. I feel bad for insulting features of my appearance that I would try to encourage others to embrace. However, this guilt is not mine to be burdened with. It is natural to find applying ideas of body positivity to others easier than to yourself.
The issue is that while you are working to encourage people of all appearances that their body deserves as much love as anyone else’s, society is yet to be completely persuaded. There is money to be made in insecurity, therefore we are still being fed media which encourages comparison between ourselves and others. Besides, it is completely normal to doubt yourself, even those you look up to still have parts of themselves they may wish were different. It is important to realise that your insecurities are not your own fault. Overthrowing the way you have felt about yourself for most of your life was never going to be easy, but it will be worth it!
If you spend most of your time preaching that a person’s weight does not determine whether they are attractive, and no one has any reason to be ashamed by their body shape, then that’s amazing, even if you still have doubts sometimes! You are showering the world with positivity it so desperately needs, and indirectly combating the negative thoughts you have about yourself. The emotional, often hormone driven, thoughts you sometimes have about your own appearance does not affect the authenticity of the logical, inspirational beliefs you try to encourage.
Loving yourself, and encouraging that love in others, is a rollercoaster ride. Do not let your low moments discourage the highs, always remember each day is progress, and of course remember that you’re fab-u-lous!!