Body love can be a really difficult thing to cultivate in your life, but there are things you can do to make the process a lot easier. Saying body positive affirmations to yourself is one of the best and can help to transform your thoughts and feelings about your body and make you believe what you're saying. In case you're unfamiliar with what affirmations are, they're statements that you make in an attempt to change your unconscious thought process and reasoning. These statements are bold and full of power that help to shift your thinking in a different direction.
According to Boulder Academy Lifestyle Coaching, studies have shown that people have an average of 45,000 to 51,000 thoughts per day. Eighty percent of your thoughts are negative, if you fall into the average, and a majority of these happen on an unconscious level.
Affirmations bring out the negative, unconscious thoughts you have about yourself into the open. It forces you to be aware of your thought process and confront your inner demons that you probably usually ignore. "When you start making conscious positive thoughts, you actually become more aware of the negative thoughts that are always threatening to take over," Scott Armstrong of the Boulder Coaching Academy said..
If you want to start bringing affirmations into your life, it's often recommended to set aside a certain time of day to do them and incorporate them into your routines. Since this process can bring to the surface a lot of stuff that you probably don't want to deal with, it can be very hard to persevere. But the further you go, the easier it gets, and the more you start to shift your internal processes. No one said that change was easy. Here are 25 affirmations to help you to learn to love your body, all written and used successfully by yours truly.
1. "My body deserves love and respect."
Even on days when you don't feel 100 percent, you need to remember this to stay healthy and take care of yourself.
2. "I love my body as it is today."
Work. It.
3. "Food is not the enemy and I thank the food I eat for nourishing me."
Plus, it tastes really good.
4. "I thank you, body, for serving me in ______ way today. You always take such good care of me."
Did you walk to work? Have a dance party in your living room? Appreciate that!
5. "My worth isn't defined by my weight. I define my worth and I am worthy."
You are more than a number.
6. "I am beautiful."
Simple, but crucial.
7. "My body is perfect the way that it is and I honor it in this state."
There's no reason why you shouldn't always honor your body and yourself.
8. "I am comfortable in my own skin."
You should always feel comfortable in your skin, even if it seems hard sometimes to convince yourself that everything's OK.
9. "I accept my body the way it is."
Acceptance is key.
10. "I feel _____ in my body."
Fabulous.
11. "I am confident in my body."
Yas, girl. YAS.
12. "I am allowed to take up space."
And you are valuable, worthy, and special.
13. "My body image is my priority. I take my relationship to my body seriously and am finding loving it to be ____."
No one ever said loving yourself wasn't hard work sometimes.
14. "Others opinions of my body do not affect or involve me."
The only person whose opinion matters is me.
15. "Society has taught me to hate my ______. Today, I declare that I love my _____ because of its ______."
Love every part of yourself.
16. "Body, I promise to love and cherish you always. I am sorry for ever being cruel to you and ask for forgiveness."
A little extra love is always good.
17. "I take care of my body by doing ______."
Yoga? Walking to work? Monthly facials? Meditation?
18. " I feel ____ about my body image and acknowledge my improvement in ___ aspect of it."
Be honest with yourself.
19. "Love fills every inch of my skin and I feel the love inside of my body."
The more love, the better.
20. "Even though I've felt ashamed of _____ body part, I commit to changing it. Five things I find to love about it are_____."
List things that make you feel great and you'll be surprised at the tasks effect on you.
Now go forth and love your beautiful self.
Images: Bianca Consunji/Bustle; Giphy (20)
