emotional growth

Hello you!  YES YOU!  Who else am I talking to??? Have you ever done this?:

Them: Hey [Name] you look gorgeous!  Oh my goodness that dress is beautiful.

Us: This thing?  I got it at [Shop name] on sale for $3.  It’s a stupid dress and I had to safety pin the hem…  See?

Them:  Ahm, well you look good in it.  And your sandals look so good.

Us: Hmmmm – you obviously haven’t noticed the hard skin on my feet, it’s like stone.

Them: Well, you look great anyway.

Us: My stomach’s bloated at the moment.

Them: OK.

And then they give up.  Maybe this example is extreme but have you ever said any of these types of things???

Someone says something nice to you about the way you look and instead of just saying a gracious ‘thank you’ like a sane human being…  you bat their compliment away by making a list of what you think could be wrong with you.

Many of us feel uncomfortable when someone says something wonderful about our appearance, maybe we feel we don’t deserve it BUT what we don’t realize is that if we keep doing that, we’ll be chipping away at our self esteem…  It’s toxic!

A study published in ‘Psychology of Women Quarterly’ (Title: “‘If You’re Fat, Then I’m Humongous!’: Frequency, Content and Impact of Fat Talk”) found that “Fat talk (women speaking negatively about the size and shape of their bodies) is a phenomenon that both reflects and creates body dissatisfaction.”   

So it’s a vicious cycle…  If you keep going on (even just to yourself), about how much you don’t like your appearance, everything gets worse!

And if you can accept compliments and say nice things to yourself (find nice things to say!), accepting and loving yourself where you are right now, you can avoid a whole load of heartache (including, according to studies, depression!).

AND

Think of the poor person that complimented you!!!  They put themselves on the line to honestly say something nice about you and because of your $%&*ed up view of yourself, you act like what they are saying is nothing, just garbage!  You have rejected them bigtime.  Get a grip girl!  Let’s do better.  The next person that says something nice to you…  Just reply, “Thank you.  I really appreciate it.  That makes me feel great!” and leave it at that before I have to come over to where you are and give you a piece of my mind in person 🙂 LOL.

Now, in the comments box below, please tell me 3 to 6 things that are GREAT about yourself!  Don’t hold back.

Here are my 6 things:

1) “I love the way my behind jiggles when I walk…” LOL

2) “My skin is beautiful.”

3) “My teeth aren’t perfect but they’re mine and I like them!  They suit my face.  Tooth chips and all :-)”

4) “I am loving.  I care about people.”

5) “I love dancing to soca music.  Carnival.  In the sunshine and with a smile on my face!”

6) “I’ve discovered I don’t have to perfect anymore and so I have a lot more fun and I’m much more honest with people.  How smart am I?  Heh heh!!!”

love,

The Lifestylista

xox