Hot Pink Vibes and Positive Affirmations
Happy Thursday, friends! Maybe it’s because I’m still inspired from the panel discussion I participated in last week, or maybe it’s just because this hot pink Outdoor Voices set makes me happy – but today I thought I’d talk about celebrating ourselves! Let me explain…
For a good portion of my life, I clung to a lot of negative thoughts about myself. I know this might be surprising, considering at this stage in my life I try to be as positive as possible. But if I’m being honest, that comes from years of training myself to switch my thoughts from bad to good. And I’m still working on it every single day!
The thing is, there is so much negativity in the world that we can’t control. As much as I wish this wasn’t true, I can’t control anyone but myself. And that can be tough and frustrating enough to deal with on it’s own, without adding more unnecessary negativity into your life. Anyone else feel this?
But what if we reminded ourselves, amidst everything else going on around us, that we are worthy of being happy? Or that you are stronger than you think you are? Or maybe repeat to yourself each morning: I am capable. Actually, repeat that right now.
I am capable.
Whether you’re thriving or life has thrown you a curveball, you have control over your thoughts. I’m not saying that negative thoughts won’t creep in, but they put restrictions on us when they do. They make us feel less than, less worthy, less strong, less capable. And you know what? If that’s what you’re telling yourself, you’re making everything harder than it needs to be.
What has worked for me
One of the things that has helped me when I get in “negative ruts” is taking a step back. Take a look at yourself, your accomplishments, your body – whatever you’ve been working on improving recently. I honestly think this is why #Transformation pictures are so popular, because they’re effective! It’s easy to think that nothing is happening, changing, or getting better from day to day. But if you look at where you were a month/6 months/a year ago, I guarantee there are victories to celebrate! They might not be as big as you would have liked – but getting a promotion, or hitting a fitness goal, or finally starting that new hobby are ALL worth acknowledging.
The reason why I’m writing about this with these images is because I specifically struggle with negative thoughts about my body. It’s one of my insecurities that has been around since I was very young. To battle it, I try to eat healthy and exercise – and I love to share all of that with you guys because it’s so motivating! But there are still days when I’m super insecure about my arms, or my legs, or whatever else I don’t like that day.
And yet when I got these photos back, instead of looking at them and picking myself apart, I thought “She looks good!” I mean, I see ABS in some of these pictures! Whaaaa?! Guess those solidcore classes have been paying off! For me, these positive thoughts were a big win.
I think we are often so worried about sounding conceited if we celebrate ourselves, but that’s really not my point. This isn’t about bragging, fishing for compliments, or looking for validation from other people. This has to do with speaking to yourself in a similar way you would speak to your best friend. Would you pick apart her flaws? Or would you say “GO GIRL, YOU GOT THIS!!”?
So, while I’m sharing this pretty publicly , I want to encourage you to “celebrate” yourself in whatever ways work for you. That could be a quiet recognition to yourself or sharing a victory with your partner or in your group text chain. But do yourself a favor and cheer yourself on a little. Progress is hard. Creating things is hard. Getting ahead at work is hard. Losing weight is hard. Getting strong is hard. But you are capable.
So, throughout the day today, try to think of one thing you can do tomorrow that will make you feel better about yourself or get you closer to a goal. Then go to bed tonight, get a good night’s sleep, wake up tomorrow, and DO THAT THING. Invest in yourself, and believe that investment is worthwhile. We got this ??
Shop my pink Outdoor Voices set + more:
Wearing a small in both the Athena Top and 3/4 Warmup Legging. These leggings are definitely a little bit smaller than the Two Tone Leggings I also own in a small – just FYI!
