Who You Are Begins In Your Mind

It is no secret that with nearly 7 billion people in this world, we are all different. Speech, looks, capabilities, beliefs, strengths, etc. Every single individual has their own set of finger prints and genome structure. Yet even though we have this knowledge, it seems so easy for individuals to compare themselves to one another. You are special and who you are, starts in your mind. The accumulation of our life experiences, beliefs, and anything picked up in our socialization process results in something called the self-concept. The self-concept is one of the most fascinating psychological phenomena to me because the world we live in, is essentially the sum of billions of self-concepts. Our world is a reflection of and impacts how people perceive themselves...thus affecting how we receive and treat one another. The self-concept is composed of our believed potentials (self-esteem) and our physical/emotional/mental perception of ourselves (self-image). For this reason, what exists in "truth" is truly up to the perceiver. the bible says, As a man thinketh, so is he. Ourr minds are the most powerful tool when it comes to how we perceive ourselves, but the small detail is that we don't even realize how our experiences or the things we've been exposed to affect the inner workings of our minds. As a Wellness Coach, one of the biggest reasons my clients come to me is because of confidence. They don't feel confident in their skin because of how they look. I totally understand this, but one of the major points I make is that help individuals live a healthy lifestyle, mind, body, spirit. Most women want to "lose weight" or don't feel comfortable because of their tummys but its not the end result of the tummy that should be so important. Now as a result of eating clean, you're tummy will in fact be smaller and tighter, but its not just aesthetics that should be so important. Now as someone in the health & fitness industry people ask, when is enough enough. Most don't understand that those in fitness are more so obsessed with idea of achieving goals, rather than what they look like. Its about setting a goal, making a plan, and challenging yourself to be dedicated and disciplined enough to see it through. That is an obsessive joy when you can become a GOAL DIGGER. Its a mentality. 

Now there's a whole other mentality that attracts people to become into fitness in the first place, and thats the idea of imperfection vs. perfection. I came across these 2 videos recently and thought they were perfect contrast to one another. As the first highlights that its ok to embrace all people who are perfectly imperfect, the 2nd highlights the danger of a culture emphasizing that perfection is only attained through cosmetic enhancement. The idea that you are not good enough unless you look like someone else. The reality is, you are meant to look like you. As long as you are healthy in mind, body, spirit, you are perfect.  Our attainment for "perfection" is so tainted by images we see, that we don't realize that we are constantly comparing and judging ourselves according to such images. The goal is self love through a wellness based life. If you are a size 10 at a healthy body fat, and you take care of yourself, more power to you sister. If you are lean, and don't have bulging bi-ceps...there's no need to have low confidence. Embrace who you are, understand that you can mentally and physically become the best version of yourself but don't let that be a result of what you think you're supposed to look like. We are all created different for a reason. Embrace you! Love You