Body Positivity: Everyone Needs It

You all know the drill. Every New Year’s comes along and we are inundated with ads promising us a fresh new start, a new year, a “new you.” 

Gyms, beauty salons, cosmetic surgeons. Everyone’s out to talk to you about yourself come January, it seems, but very few want to empower you to love yourself. Instead, it’s all hustle culture platitudes and toxic positivity — all part of a mission to separate you from some of your cash.

Instead of promising you a product to change your life and mindset this January, we at Fairvilla would like to offer a different way to begin your year: with body positivity and real, solid self-love. Here are our top tips:

Watch how you talk to yourself about yourself. That sounds simple, but it isn’t necessarily easy. You may want to enlist a friend and support each other. When you catch yourselves verbalizing negative self-talk, gently remind each other that you’re working on positive language. 

Instead of saying, “Gosh I’m so fat, I really need to lose weight,” rephrase! “I really want to be more active,” might seem like an insignificant modification, but you’ve taken self-judgement out of the equation, and that is crucial to ultimately changing how you think about yourself.

Make these changes to your self-talk as often and actively as you can — especially if you have children. Be mindful that they will hear how you talk to yourself, and that they will grow up thinking that how you talk to yourself is what they should do in regard to themselves.

Focus your energy and attention on what you love about yourself. Let us explain, though, as this goes beyond “I like my eyes” or “My hair is a nice color.” Expand your focus beyond the external and the cosmetic, and bring your attention to all the amazing things that your body does for you each and every day. 

If you’ve ever had surgery, or recovered from an injury, you’ll know this: think back to your recovery process. Every day, your body did its best to heal itself, until you were just as whole as before. Each and every day, our bodies care for us in thousands of ways. Take a moment every day to thank your body for keeping you as healthy as can be.

So this year, if you really want to get that gym membership or that amazing new kitchen gadget, then do so. But don’t feel pressured by empty promises that those things are vehicles to an improved you. Instead of crafting a “new you,” remember the regular you is, and has always been, enough.

JOIN US

Join Fairvilla educators for a fun and accepting start to the year with a body positivity class. Check Fairvilla.com for times and dates.

In a previous life, Sheila Mulholland was a library professional, but now she works for Fairvilla as the Community Outreach Coordinator for the Space Coast. Giving back to the community is her passion. In her spare time, she enjoys video games, yoga, and walks on the beach with her partner at sunset.

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