Hi Friends!
I had a WIAW post planned for you but there’s been a change of plans. It’s been a while since I’ve done a more serious post…but you know me, once I get something on my mind, it usually doesn’t go away until after I write about it.
In the past few weeks since I’ve been back from vacation, I’ve noticed something happening. It happens in every day life as well, but I always seem to notice it more right after a vacation. So this time I’ve decided to address it.
The “it” I’m talking about is negative thoughts. It’s the nit-picking, the self-doubt, the sadness that creeps in when I start looking at pictures from a trip. I’ve finally figured out that for me, it’s the pictures that trigger it. I’m not the kind of person that enjoys being in photos. I’d much rather be the one taking them. As a result, I don’t have a ton of pictures of myself. And the pictures I do have are usually from special events or occasions when I’m dressed up and looking my best. What I don’t have is a lot of pictures of me just “living”. And that’s what I get when I go on vacation. Especially if I’m on vacation with my mom who, like me, is constantly taking photos. Except in this situation I’m the one that’s in them. And I’m not always looking my best. Sometimes it’s me in a swim suit, or sweatpants… It’s just me being me.
And those are the pictures I start picking apart when I get home.
I know a lot of bloggers have talked openly about their issues with eating disorders/negative body image/weight struggles/etc. I’m not one of them. That doesn’t mean I haven’t had struggles of my own. In fact, I think you’d be hard pressed to find a female who HASN’T, at some point, struggled with body image.
I dealt with my struggles in middle school and high school mostly, but it wasn’t until I graduated from college and started to clean up my diet that my body really found its happy place. As a result, I’ve weighed the same amount and looked pretty much the same for the past 5 years.
Do I look like I did when I was 16 and in the best shape of my life?
No.
But i’m also not currently practicing/lifting/running for 3-4 hours a day like I was back then.
I’ve figured out what works for me now, at this stage in my life. How much I need to exercise, how much I need to eat, what kinds of foods make me feel my best. I’ve made working out a habit, I’ve brought strength training back into my life and I’ve learned to listen to my body when it needs rest.
I am strong.
I am beautiful.
I am healthy.
I am happy.
That doesn’t mean the negative thoughts I battled for so long are totally gone. It seems like I can never quite get rid of them. Like an annoying little gnat buzzing in my ear, they’re always there.
I’m just putting more effort into dealing with them
instead of letting them dictate my moods and actions.
When I look at myself in the mirror and notice the stretch marks I have on my inner thighs and think, “Those make my legs look so ugly”…I take a second to stop and think about that statement.
IN THE PAST, I would have immediately put away the shorts I was going to wear, pulled on pants and spent rest of the day finding even more things that were wrong with my legs.
NOW, I ask myself, “Is it true?”- No. The stretch marks are faded and most likely hardly noticeable to anyone but me. Next, “Is it kind.” Basically, is that a nice thing to say? Would I say it about someone else? No. Then why should I say it about myself? Finally, “Is it helpful?” No. There is no part of that statement that makes me feel good or motivates me to work harder.
NOW, instead of wallowing in self-doubt and sadness, I choose to replace that thought with a more positive one. I look in the mirror again and choose to focus on the leg muscles I’ve developed since I started lifting and working out regularly. My legs are strong enough to carry me through a crazy hard 100 workout 4 minutes faster than I’ve ever done it before, and then keep me on my feet long enough to play three volleyball matches.
When I think about my legs as being strong, it is true, it is kind and it is helpful…because it motivates me to keep them that way!
It’s the flaws and the strengths that make them mine.
And make them beautiful.
IN THE PAST, I noticed the little lines that show up around my eyes when I smile and I wished they weren’t there.
NOW, I think how lucky I am to have people in my life that make me smile every.single.day.
IN THE PAST, I thought about how big my hips were and wished that some day I could wear a size 2 like the models in the magazines.
NOW, I embrace the fact that I’ve worked my way down to a size 8 because I know it’s the right size for me. I am proportionate. I have muscle. I am balanced… I can #movemore and #enjoylife because I am healthy and strong. I am not a stick figure and there is NOTHING wrong with that.
—————————————–
View negative thoughts as wasted space,
and choose to replace them with positive ones.
——————————————
Stop picking yourself apart.
Stop focusing on your flaws.
Start finding things that make you proud.
Start embracing who you are NOW.
——————————————-
It will change your life for the better.
And sometimes, especially after vacation,
I just need to remind myself of that.
Enjoy!
–Lindsay–
PS. Big thanks to my hubby who always makes me feel beautiful 🙂
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It always amazing me how people are their own worst critics (myself included). I would have never, ever thought you were in anything but the best shape ever (seriously – you were MORE fit at 16? HOW?!). And WHAT eye lines, crazy lady?
Thanks for the awesome reminder that we are perfect just as we are. I need it this weekend when I enter the last year of my 20s. Ugh.
This is an incredible post. I get the same nagging feeling when I look at photos. OH MY LAWD, the professional photos from the weekend in Napa. Next to tan, professional triathletes… Who look gorgeous while drooling in their sleep, I’m pretty sure did not help one bit.
“Stop picking yourself apart.
Stop focusing on your flaws.”
yes yes yes. collectively. As humans — we need to stop doing this.
xoxoxo you’re beautiful. 🙂
I heart you. But you already know that. 😉 And I’m glad you heart yourself. You’re totally worth it. Wonderful post, thanks for opening up so much to us!
This is a beautiful post! I’m the same as you. Since I started blogging, I’ve had more pictures taken of myself than my whole entire life. I never liked the way I looked in pics. There was always something wrong – outfit, hair, face, smile, body, etc. I even remember way back when I was younger ripping up newly developed pics because I thought I looked horrible.
It’s a constant work in progress but I’m getting better at looking at positives rather than negatives. Thanks for addressing this and opening up. You are NOT alone by any means!
yay!!! love hearing how hard you’re working on embracing the positive! so awesome!
such a lovely post and, for some reason, I LOVE what you say at the end about your husband too.
I have so many friends who struggle with being kind to themselves and the husband seems to …..make it worse :/
Love the positive message in your post! It’s not always easy, but I know I can try more to keep the negative thoughts at bay!
Great post, Lindsay! And I love that picture of you and your husband. The words on the picture are from a song that I love!! 🙂
I love this post. Thanks for being honest and being real, for putting into perspective where we’ve been in the past and where we can focus NOW. I love this line “I think how lucky I am to have people in my life that make me smile every.single.day.” I’ll be thinking about this post all day, replacing, useless negative thoughts with positive ones. Thanks for sharing. Just what I needed for today!
so glad i could share it with you!! surround yourself with the positive!!
linz!!!! I love that your wrote this. HOnest, open, and spot on!! No need for negative thoughts, they are a waste of energy. The one thing i notice most about you in your pictures is your smile.. it’s REAL> keep it that way.
p.s.
i have stretch marks on my inner thighs. I think they are cool now. hehe.
weeeeeee!!!! stretch mark club 🙂 haha love it
Thanks for opening up and being so honest! Your message today was something I really needed to hear. I’m currently struggling with negative thoughts about myself and you offered a very practical approach to encourage me to keep trying to be positive! Thanks for helping me realize I’m not alone!
you’re welcome! keep up the positive thoughts! don’t leave any room for negative ones!!
Fabulous post. Since I turned 30 I have spent sooo much time focusing on the positive…it is how I choose to spend my next 30 years. Your post was a good reminder of why it is so important and why I am glad to be out of my self-doubting 20s.
awesome!!! love your attitude!
What an incredible post! You are absolutely gorgeous, inside and out, and this post is going to have a huge impact on a lot of people.
Thank you.
i hope so! thanks for reading!!
Oh my goodness, I just realized I do the same thing with photos (vacay ones esp). I’ve never liked authentic photos of myself and this needs to change. The mental scripting ideas are wonderful… thanks for such an inspiring post. <3 <3
you’re welcome! thanks for reading!! work on changing that attitude. authentic is beautiful 🙂
Thank you Lindsay! This is a fabulous and honest post and is so very true! I think it is a great reminder that we all need to work on ridding ourselves of those negative thoughts and start loving our bodies more!
for sure! i need to be reminded every day 🙂 but it’s so important!
Wonderful post! It actually made me tear up a bit because I am just getting through a major self-turnaround. This past winter left me with a terrible case of the blues and negative body image. I am still trying to lose some weight, but have learned to focus more on inches than weight. Thank you so much for helping me to feel like I am not the only one out there who is sometimes too critical. I am definitely going to use those 3 little questions to as myself before saying something negative. You are an inspiration!
yay!!!i hope they help! keep working hard to fight those blues!
Lindsay-Love your post & thank you for it! As someone who has constantly struggled with weight, body image & self esteem issues it does my heart good to see a post like this :-D. I’ve been on this journey since February to lose weight & be healthy & happy and just be ME! B/C I finally realized being me was ENOUGH :-). I’m currently not at a healthy weight but am working on getting there & this post of yours helps me do that too. <3 it!! Think Positive & Be Positve!
yay!!! keep going strong on your journey! you’ve already made the most important realization!
This post is all kinds of wonderful. I’m writing down the “Is it true? Is it kind? Is it helpful?” to get me through my next bouts of self-doubt. It’s funny–in a sad way–how often we can forget to be kind to ourselves the way we strive to be to others.
Thanks for sharing so candidly with all of us. <3
yes!!! sometimes we focus all our energy on being outwardly kind that we forget to be inwardly kind!
Wow, I love how open and brave you are. For me I was always teased because I was small and probably didn’t hit true puberty until the tenth grade. I used to try everything I could do to look like the other girls when I should have just been concentrated on being comfortable with myself. It is so hard to have someone else tell you your body is flawed but it is another thing to let it control you. You are absolutely right, it is all about being comfortable with yourself and your body, once you’ve got that nothing can keep you down! Thank you for your courage. you are truly beautiful. Your positivity is contagious.
so true! it definitely hard to hear the negative sometimes but one thing we can always control is whether or not that negativity comes from within or not! and it shouldn’t!
It’s almost always easier to accept the negative than embrace the positive. Thanks for the reminder!
Thanks for this post, it’s so true and inspiring too. There is no point to being negative so good for you for spreading the positivity!
Such a beautiful post with a super important message! It’s so easy to pick at ourselves and let those negative thoughts overtake our lives. You are so right when you say we have the power to replace those thoughts with loving, positive ones! Thanks for sharing this! 🙂
I absolutely love this post! What a beautiful way to put changing your views on yourself. I lived my youth under my own microscope! I started eating healthy and working out the summer after 8th grade. My grandfather would poke fun at my thighs (I come from a long line of women with small waists and larger thighs). This has now been my focus ever since then…24 years ago. After all these years and some pretty horrible physical issues (having babies, having a tumor, having surgeries)…I am now happy with me. I used to pick every picture of me apart. I hated most things about myself even though I have an amazing husband that loves me for me (married for 17 years). For some reason, one day, it all just clicked and I no longer do that to myself. I think there has to be a time when you just take a deep breath and realize that you are special. You are the only you there is and you have to appreciate who you are inside and out. Nobody is perfect, but you are the perfect you! Such a great post! Thank you for sharing this!
love love love your new attitude. so true! we are all special and we all need to work on appreciating ourselves more because we’re worth it!
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: you and so many of the bloggers I read/follow are such inspirations to me! I struggle with body image like most females and I’ve talked about the weight struggles on my blog because I just had to get it out there. I wasn’t looking to get compliments that I lost weight, or anything, I just needed to see those pictures of me again to see the wake up call that I decided to make the effort to get healthy and look what it did! It made me better in more ways than one!
i still get negative thoughts, but every time I do I remind myself that even though I’m not at the goal weight yet, I’m still down three pant sizes from two years ago, my doctor even said I’m the healthiest he’s seen me and all my blood, sugar and cholesterol levels are healthy and good. I like your mantra. It was my #1 resolution for 2012: focus on the positive, kick the negative out. Thanks for sharing, Lindsay!
rock on girl! that is AMAZING!!!! you’ve made so many positive changes! keep it up!!
You are beautiful and awesome!! I’m so happy that we’ve gotten to know each other over the last years blogging 🙂 You always inspire me.
PS – ADORE the photo of you and hubs. adorb.
awwww same here friend! love you!!
LOVE this post! pinned it! <3
Negative thoughts are a permanent fixture in my brain! I was always the ugly ducking next to my gorgeous and skinny mom and sister. People were kind enough to tell me so. I hated myself..shunned away from the mirror..and when acne spread like wildfire, it not only scarred the outside but my soul as well.
I think there’ll always be a place in my heart that’s full of self-doubt, loneliness, self-loathing, destruction. However, I’m determined to make that size as small as it can be, one day at at time..one picture.. one glance in the mirror at a time.
I shall be happy in my present weight and beauty.
The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. Psalm 18:2. Amen!
yes! be happy with who you are now, but always continue to strive to be the best you can be!
Love this post, the message, and especially the photo of you two at the end! Adorable! 🙂 <3
Holy moly you are right, this timing IS perfect! I love this exercise you’ve done of catching each specific negative thought, and then talking back to it and telling it to take a hike. You look so beautiful – I can see the strength in your legs in the second photo, amazing! – and I hope that you can always keep fighting the negativity and remember the fact that you are amazing, wonderful, fantastic you. You have started a foodie pen pals program that is RIDICULOUSLY huge and popular, for crying out loud. I look at you and wonder how you keep it all organized. You are a recipe MAESTRO. You got an internship to become an RD, something that is impossible to do. You are a rockstar and a gorgeous one at that. Love you!
thank you so much lady! you’re a rockstar!
This is an amazing post! Absolutely wonderful to see you make a stand against negative thoughts! There is nothing more important than a positive outlook. Only YOU can choose positivity for yourself. It cannot be chosen for you, until you accept it for yourself. I am so glad I stumbled upon this wonderful post. 🙂
love that outlook- SO true that positivity can’t be chosen for you, you must choose it!
I LOVE THIS POST!! You go linds! You are beautiful!
This was such an amazing post, Lindsay. Honestly, I think everyone has struggles from time to time. We are our own worst critics! We seem to find everything about ourselves that we DON’T like and point them out. I love the questions you ask yourself when you start thinking of those things. It’s so true. If we wouldn’t say it to someone else, we shouldn’t be saying it about ourselves. We should be proud of who we are and what we DO like about ourselves. This was so inspirational, thanks for writing it!<3
yes!!! the power of positivity is amazing!!! and there are so many things to like in each of us!
great post linds! i appreciate your honesty here. this is always something to be working on! 🙂
Thank you for an incredibly honest post. I’ve been working on my mental self image for years, and I’m slowly starting to like who I see. Perfect? No. But my “flaws” all tell a story, and that story is my life. 🙂
so true. “flaws” are not flaws…they’re what make you, you!
I. Luff. You. lindsay, this post is so beautiful and heartfelt. Im so happy that you wrote it and gave us a closer look at this side of you! You’re amazing, girl. I think it’s really tough for those of us who work in the professional nutrition world to open up because we’re afraid we won’t be viewed as experts anymore. i learned how wrong i was! People support and respect it so much. keep shining babe! 🙂
so true! the support is always out there! You just gotta find it! and embrace it 🙂 xo
Thank you so much for this post! I cannot tell you enough how much I needed to hear this as well as soo many other women. It’s so hard to be honest, but I have found that is the only way to get support and the encouragement you need to stand up to those negative thoughts. I love your mantra of “Is it true?” “Is it helpful?” “Is it kind?” I am definitely going to start saying that the next time I feel self doubt!
yay!!!I hope they help you like they’ve helped me!
What a vicious trap we women set for ourselves! I am so glad you put this out there — I’m as guilty as the next gal for finding all of my flaws and not appreciating my good qualities. It is so important to be your happiest NOW and not always be waiting for that time when you/your life will be perfect….because you’ll always be waiting. Thanks for the reminder that we all have FABULOUS qualities that we should celebrate every single day. Love ya girl!
for sure!!! enjoying the now is SO key!!
YES. Negative thoughts are wasted space, wasted energy, and just plain sad and unecessary. Does that mean I never battle this? Um,no. I battle it. Often. But what I’ve learned is to try to intentionally pick out positive things about myself. Everyday. Living with intention, and by default, loving myself with that very same intention. It takes practice, it doesn’t always work – but the more you can look at yourself in the mirror and say, I love my arms, or I love my back or I love my SMILE. The more you’re going to believe that you are uniquely beautiful and worthy and wonderful. No negative space allowed. LOVE this post, girlfriend. xoxo
you’re such an inspiration for positive living!! love you!
Amen, sister. You are so right and thanks for the honesty. I struggled my whole life (and still face challenges now), but I’m proud that at 32 I’m more fit and healthy now than I was at 16. You’re right that this is a mantra to practice, repeat and incorporate into everyday life because it’s so easy to get bogged down in that negative mentality. Cheers to recognizing flaws are really beauty marks in disguise.
LOVE that last sentence. SO TRUE!! you’re awesome, girl! keep it up!
Lindsay — thank you SO so so so SO much for posting this. I saw your image on IG last night and was looking forward to reading this. I hope that a LOT of people read this and have the same reaction that I did. I’m sharing all over in hopes to help a few more.
<3
thanks so much girl! spread the positivity!
I’ll echo what everyone else has already said…GREAT POST! I’m glad you took the realistic approach and understand that everyone struggles with negative thoughts. You present easy steps to start making a change to being more positive. Thanks for sharing!
you’re welcome! realistic is the way to be, i think!
Girl, you’re going to make me cry! You are gorgeous and inspiring and kind and strong and I could go on and on. Hugs!
aww you’re the best! thank you!!
What a FABULOUS post! This is a post so many of us need to read. Thank you for sharing!
While all the pictures on your post are great, I really LOVE the one of you standing on the rocks with your hands up as the wave crashes in is a favorite of mine. And of course the one of you and your hubby is adorable. You are beautiful!
thanks for reading 🙂
I really, really love this post, Lindsay! (First time (or second?!) time commenting!) I’ve fallen off the exercise wagon since starting grad school (ugh, time suck!) and have been extraordinarily hard on myself in the past 6 months, especially when I see pictures or have to go clothes shopping. I absolutely love the “is it true/kind/helpful” because 10 times out of 10 – it’s none of those things!!! I’m trying to work really hard to change my attitude because I know that’s the first time to accepting, loving and embracing myself! You go, girl 🙂
stay positive girl! and keep working hard! you’re doing amazing things! everyone falls off the workout wagon every once and a while. good news is, you always have the option to get back on!!
Love this post! Thank you for being so open. I have those negative thoughts sometimes but putting a positive spin on things definitely helps.
definitely! a positive spin changes everything!
Love.LOVE. LOVE!!! This is beautiful, just like YOU 🙂
What a beautiful post, Lindsay! We definitely are our own worst critics. For me, I always look at my arms in a photo I’m in and pick it apart out of habit. My friends have finally made me realize how silly that is, but sometimes we need another reminder.
awesome that you have such supportive family and friends!!
This is such a great post Lindsay. I feel very much the same way about pictures – I hate being in them and much prefer to take them. When I do see pictures of myself, I nit pick away at everything. It’s really not the most productive use of my time and energy for sure. I really like the three questions that you ask yourself – is it true? is it kind? is it helpful? and will definitely try to incorporate that when I encounter these situations. But what you say is true – each stage of our life is different and our bodies will look and feel differently. What worked back then doesn’t always work now and part of the journey is finding what is it that does work for us NOW. Yes, I was probably in the best shape of my life 10 years ago but I didn’t carry 2 kids then. My body is strong in a completely different way now even though my weight has pretty much stayed the same since college. Things move and shift and that’s fine by me because that means it’s a body well lived.
love love love your attitude! amazing!!
What a beautiful post, Lindsay- and something I totally needed today (and every day). It’s really hard to fight those negative demons and shut them up. I wish that we (strong women!) wouldn’t think thoughts like these, but they just seem to pop up.
It really helps to know that I’m not alone- and that someone as amazing as you even struggles with this.
Thank you!
i agree! it helps to know you have people in the same boat as you. you’re amazingly strong and you impress me every day with your inner and outer beauty!
There ate so many truths in this post. Great message, especially for women!
Beautiful post. I’ve been writing posts like this the past week. We are our own worst critics and we are in control of our thoughts! The only person we can control in our mind is us and we have the power to change what we are thinking. I always bring a notebook with me that have positive mantras, and when I hear a negative thought come into my mind, I read my notes and replace the negative with a positive. It is a wonderful feeling and so simply! Thanks for being so open and honest!!
ooooh love the notebook idea!!!
You’re a beautiful woman FROM the inside out. It all stems from the heart, and you, my dear, have a beautiful one. Thank you for your honesty, openness, and wisdom. Feel free to write as many “serious” posts as you want because they are lovely!
thank you so much 🙂 you’re amazing!
Well said! I’ve only recently embraced my crow’s feet. I finally realized that they are there because I smile so much… who could hate that? Thank you for sharing your journey with these thoughts. I think it really helps people to know that they are not alone.
exactly!!! too much smiling is never a bad thing 🙂
What a great post! I needed that today. Thank you 🙂
so glad i could serve as a reminder for you!
Amen, sista!! And your photos are just GORGEOUS!! (like you!!) Many points well-made here, friend!
Wow. I LOVE this post, every single word of it. So funny, for starters, because EVERY pic of you from your trip, I ADORED. You were glowing, happy, and you looked just gorgeous, just as you are. But I know exactly what you mean, that self-doubt that creeps in needlessly! It’s such a biatch to batter away, sometimes, isn’t it? But your message – wow – I cannot even convey how perfectly put it is and something I too needed to hear today. Just one of those days where negative thoughts start to creep in and I start doubting my abilities. Needlessly. You are beautiful, strong, and absolutely one of the most real people I am proud to say I ‘know.’ XOXO
so glad i could help push some of those negative thoughts away! YOU are beautiful! i’ve been loving all your lake pictures this weekend!
Our minds really do play tricks on us because you could seriously be a model. You are beautiful!!
Thanks for this reminder to think positively!
Also I love the last picture with you and your hubby…so adorable! <3
awww you are so sweet, girl! thank you so much! i could say the same about you 🙂
Thank you for posting this because somehow in my thick head I thought I was the only one who felt this way. I am glad to see that others feel the same way. Have a great afternoon. I am sending a big hug to you as thanks for a very powerful post.
you are DEFINITELY not the only one! stay positive!!
Good for you pet. I think it’s especially important to ask ‘would I say that about someone else? Is it kind?’. Easy to forget. Thank you for the reminder x
So easy to forget! i’m trying to constantly remind myself 🙂
This post couldn’t have come at a better time. Like you said, I think most women struggle with body images at some point in their lives. But I just got back from a trip and looking at the pictures, felt horrible about myself. I hate to say that as a dietitian, I feel even more pressure to be thin. Lately, I haven’t been as on track and the pictures showed it. I am trying this as a positive, that I want to take care of myself.
i totally agree! stay positive girl! you’re an amazing role model for so many people!
This post is very relevant to me. I have been struggling with negative thoughts for years and within the last couple of months am working on changing it. It’s so hard but at the same time I think it’s also a part of life. We can’t grow without change, right? BTW- I think you look fab and truly love all of your posts!
exactly!!!! to me growth = change 🙂 and that’s a good thing!
thank you SO much for this reminder! WOW… this is an amazing, beautiful post and i needed to hear this today more than you know!
i’m so glad i wrote it then!!
You are amazing – this is so incredibly well written. Life is beautiful. love it!
thank you so much!
You are SO strong and I envy your fitness level daily. I’m thankful you felt comfortable opening up about all of this, and I like the conscious effort you are making to change your thought pattern.
Goodness knows you are right that we ALL feel that way some times.
thanks love 🙂 it’s hard, but i’m trying to make it a positive habit!
Lindsay, I truly admire your honesty. I’ve been overweight since I was a teenager and battle negative thoughts on a daily basis. It’s a lot harder to focus on the positives sometimes, but we have to do it. We DESERVE it! Thanks for writing such a beautiful post!
we DO deserve it! never forget it girl!
AMAZING post Linds! I love this :D. You are beautiful, inside and out girl!!
thanks girl!
You are so beautifully inside and out, and I’m so thankful to have you as my friend! I love this post. We need to love ourselves more and accept who we are instead of constantly belittling ourselves! 🙂 Love you friend!
yes! for sure! something everyone needs to work on i think!
This is such a beautiful and honest post. You couldn’t have said it better. You are right – I think 99% of females experience similar things that you discussed…I’ve been putting off doing a similar post.
You are beautiful. Whatever “flaws” you may see when you look at pictures are not flaws – they just make you, you. My husband always tells me that it’s the little things that I hate about myself (my body) that he finds most endearing…and those are things that he fell in love with. We are real girls. We aren’t air brushed.
Having said that, you look amazing in the pictures you posted. =)
awww LOVE that your husband points that out to you!!! so cute
This post makes me sad and happy all at the same time! Sad because SO many women feel this way, myself included, but happy because you’re realization is so liberating & uplifting! We beat ourselves up for being imperfect but often times it’s those same imperfections that others are drawn to, relate to & appreciate about you. Your smiling face always makes ME smile, whether you’re decked out for a night out with your hubby or you’re beet red and sweaty after a run. Oh, and I’ve never seen a wrinkle on your face in my life but if I did, I’d think “awesome, she has them too!” Thanks for another wonderful post, Lindsay!
awww thanks lady 🙂 you make me smile every day!
You are right, I think. Negative energy is such a waste. I think those 3 questions are part of the Optomist Club Creed aren’t they? And such good ones too. I try to think of them as I make decisions through the day.
Thanks for sharing.
oooh i didn’t know there was an optimist club creed. definitely gonna check it out!
Awesome post—very important message. I wish every junior high kid could hear that message from someone like you!!!
Kids today (and adults) are way too hard on themselves and they actually think that they should or can look like those size two models….tragic!!
Love your blog (:
this is DEFINITELY something i wish i’d heard in junior high!
Lindsay, what a great, truthful post! I just read something last week (can’t remember where), that said something like “if you talked to your friends the way you talk to yourself, you wouldn’t have any friends.” Obviously easier said than done, but there’s no reason for us to talk negatively to ourselves. We just need to do our best to remind ourselves of that everyday!
i’ve seen that! and i love it! so true. we’re way too hard on ourselves!
A beautiful post. Women need to get these kinds of reminders. My friend Jan Phillips sings a song on her album “Singing for the Soul” (Jan Phillips & the Gnostic Gospel Choir; http://www.janphillips.com) by a woman songwriter(http://www.libbyroderick.com/) that I listen to when I really need such a reminder. I first heard Jan sing it at an International Women’s Writing Guild conference in one of her workshops and, most recently, I attended one of her retreats and she happened to sing it at a time I truly needed it. It starts out, “How could anyone ever tell you you’re anything less than beautiful/ how could anyone ever tell you you’re less than whole?” You’ll find the rest of the words on the writer’s site, but you really need to hear it sung. I get teary-eyed almost every time.
sounds like an awesome song! i’ll definitely check it out!
what was the ladies name who asks those questions? Jill something…I remember hearing her story and those questions are definitely amazing one’s to help us put life back in perspective
This post is fantastic. 🙂 I hear you on not enjoying being in pictures. I am dreading seeing all of the candid photos my step dad took while they were here visiting last week for the fact that I am SO MEAN to myself. I want to write those questions on my hand, a post it note, in my phone…wherever I can to remind myself to make sure I am being kind, true, and helpful to myself!
thanks girl! be nice to yourself!! you’re worth it
One thing I hate about our society is what it makes us women think we should be like. You’re on the right tract with turning the negative thoughts into positive because that is one thing I’m learning in my process.
Another thing I want to comment on is you said you don’t have the body you did when you were 16. Think about that. That was a child’s body. You’re a women now. Do you want to look like a child? I would think not. Your hips got bigger because it’s preparing you for those babies! Remember why women have extra tummy flab. We’re suppose to.
Stay positive girl and embrace your little quirks. They’re what make you, you! And that’s why your husband and everyone else loves you. If they can love you as you are shouldn’t you be able to love you for who you are? I think so!!
I love your blog! I came her via ‘zucchini’ but stayed to browse and found this post to be very fitting for me today. Thank for sharing your insight and the reminder to love ourselves.
thank you! so glad you found me 🙂
This is probably one of the greatest posts I’ve ever read. Mo’ friendly reminders, mo’ happiness 🙂
thank you so much!!!! spread the positivity 🙂