Self,
I know, today has been a rough one. You’re feeling slow and useless. Out of shape and even fat. You’re hyper-focused on everything negative about yourself – you haven’t worked out in days, you’re not as fast or as fit as your best friend or the girls you hold in high esteem on social media. You’re not as bendy as the girl next to you in yoga class and you’re terrible at hydrating. You drink too much sangria and eat food that a real athlete wouldn’t even consider putting in her mouth.
Self, the fact that you even have an awareness of what it means to be an athlete makes you an athlete. The fact that you find any enjoyment in moving your body semi-regularly makes you an athlete. Remember those days when you slip into a yoga session and an hour goes by before you even realize what happened? Remember how it feels to fly down dark neighborhood streets during a speed workout with light feet and a smile on your face? Remember what it feels like to cross a finish line – all those finish lines? You have crossed so many, both literal and metaphorical.
You’re overcoming body dysmorphia a little more every day. You have strong legs and lungs that can carry you much farther than your mind thinks. You’ve finished an entire marathon! You can make a three-pointer and launch a softball to the infield from the center field fence. You can hike mountains. You love to push and compete and succeed. You have accomplished so much to be proud of, and still have so much untapped potential.
Remember that the biggest obstacle will always be you. So, change your mindset. You’re not an athlete to punish yourself or because you hate the way you look. You don’t exercise to get skinnier or prettier or because you have to. You move and sprint and bend and wiggle to celebrate who you are and all of your healthy body parts. You move to celebrate the universe that created you – perfectly imperfect – exactly as you are. Change your core values from “skinny” and “perfect” to happy and healthy. Tell yourself that this is what you value, why you do what you do. You won’t believe it at first, but keep saying it until you believe it.
Sincerely,
Self.
Holy cow. This was incredible. I posted something similar to my blog recently about falling in love with fitness to feel good, not look good. Drink your sangria and cross your finish lines! xo
Thanks so much! It’s hard to post vulnerable things like this but it matters so 👏 much 👏
I will check out your post!
This is great for when I’m feeling down especially when I feel lazy to exercise. Great post!
Thank you so much! ❤️
I love this post. I too have written many posts like this without publishing cause I’m scared of being that vulnerable.
Be brave, girl! The world deserves to know what you have to say. I definitely want to read it! ❤️
And thank you for the love.
This post is so awesome. It’s such a good reminder that one bad day doesn’t undo all your hard work!
I’m so glad to hear that! 🙌❤️
“You move and sprint and bend and wiggle to celebrate who you are and all of your healthy body parts.” You are so creative, I love this!
Thank you so much! ❤️