What does it mean to be body positive?
An easy way to think about being body positive is to treat your body like you would a dear friend. You don’t talk crap about her, you encourage her, you are grateful for her, you believe she is deserving of kindness and care, you respect her, you listen to her and you love on her.
If you read that and think it sounds impossible to act or feel that way toward your body, that’s OK! Everyone is starting somewhere.
I actually prefer to think about our relationships with our bodies in different terms. Instead of body positivity, I like to think about body acceptance, body respect, body neutrality and body care.
To me, being body positive means caring for your body with compassion and attentiveness. It means being grateful for what your body does for you regardless of how it looks. It means thoughts and feelings about your body don’t preoccupy you or keep you from enjoying life.
Everyone’s definition of body positivity is different, though. A good starting place for improving body image, body confidence or body positivity is to define what that means to you. Think about the day-to-day practical reality of a better relationship with your body. What would that look like? How would your day be different? How would your thoughts be different? Reflecting on those questions is a good first step.
Why are body positive thoughts important?
Our thoughts about our bodies make a significant impact on how we move through the world. There are a lot of great quotes about how thoughts impact life, and here’s one of my favorites:
“Your life is a reflection of your thoughts. If you change your thinking, you change your life.”
If you struggle with dissatisfaction about your body, those negative thoughts are likely impacting your life in a bigger way. The traditional health industry advice has always been to diet, burn more calories, or in some way change your body in order to have more positive thoughts and feelings towards your body.
I promote a different approach. This approach is based on the idea that our body is not a problem to be fixed. Our body size is not necessarily even within our control to change. But our thoughts about our bodies are what we have power over. So we can use them to set a new tone and establish a new way to relate and interact with our bodies.
How do I start a daily body positivity hack?
I recommend positive body affirmations. They are mantras that help you speak truth into your everyday life and rhythms. We are taking over our thoughts and being intentional about how we speak and think of our bodies.
One easy way to start the new habit of a daily affirmation is to pair it with a habit you already do. Think about tasks like brushing teeth, getting dressed or making coffee. You can put sticky notes or cards with affirmations in the locations that you do these daily habitual activities.
Some people like standing in front of a mirror to say their affirmations, but you can do it anywhere. Take one short moment to do a few deep breaths and say the affirmation to yourself, outloud, 1 to 3 times.
What to expect when you start using affirmations
You may feel nothing at first, It may seem silly. You may not deeply believe in the truth of what you’re saying.
When you pair a verbal affirmation with an embodiment activity like deep breathing or stretching you also get the immediate physical and mental benefits of the calming activity.
If this seems a little “woo-woo” to you, here’s the science: research shows that self-affirmation reduces body dissatisfaction by increasing self-esteem and shifting it away from body shape and weight.
Lastly, give it time. Daily body positive affirmations may not work in one day or one week or one month, but over time I believe that through this one daily hack, you will write a new narrative about your body.
How do I stop the negative self-talk?
Even as you implement this new daily activity of positive body affirmations, you will likely still be hit with negative thoughts and self-talk throughout the day.
It may help to reframe the goal. Stopping negative self-talk is very difficult. It can be near impossible to control our thoughts. Instead, you can focus on changing how you respond to a negative thought.
Observe the thought like a passing cloud. You don’t have to interact with it or act on it. You may benefit from mentally labeling that thought, “Oh, that’s negative self-talk popping up.”
You can follow it up with one of your body positive affirmations or truths. When you have time later, you can think through what triggered that thought or where that belief came from initially.
How to measure the success of a daily body positive affirmation
Do periodic assessments of your relationship towards your body. Every few weeks you can ask and rate on a scale of 1-10:
- “How have I been feeling about my body lately?
- How much have I been thinking about my body?
- How well have I been taking care of my body?”
Over time you should see growth and healing as you make peace with your body and manifest positivity and gratitude towards it.
Suggestions for body positive affirmations to use
A simple Google search will turn up loads of body positive affirmations to read through. I wanted to provide you with an abbreviated list so you’re not overwhelmed with where to start. Here are a few of my more unique favorites:
- Body diversity is part of the beauty of humanity.
- I am learning how to better care for my body.
- My body has been there for me every day of my life.
- My body is deserving of respect and care.
- I will not sacrifice my wellbeing to manipulate my body.
- I am more than just a body. My body is the least interesting thing about me.
- I can trust my body.
- My body and I are on the same team.
- I will not tolerate my mind or anyone else bullying my body.
- Aging is a privilege.
Do you have a favorite positive body affirmation? What has helped you cultivate or maintain a positive relationship with your body? Share with us in the comments.
If you’d like a body positive mug, t-shirt or sticker sheet, these are some of my favorite items I’ve designed in my shop!
