Let’s Love Ourself Challenge
For the past few days, I’ve been dealing with some severe body image issues. Most of my friends are really lean and do not have trouble with being overweight. Standing beside them makes me hate my body and myself. Everyone has convinced me that I need time to recuperate and my body is still healing from the C-section. At home, we’ve been trying to eat healthily, but sometimes it just doesn’t work out. I was sick 4 weeks ago, then Arlo fell sick, then I got sick again, then VJ got sick and now Arlo and I are sick together. It’s like a never-ending cycle of pass-the-stick, the stick being germs. I’m frustrated that I’ve been unable to cook healthy for the fam. I’m terrified that I will slip into the Silence-of-the-Lambs well of depression and anxiety again.
I asked Pooh if she would join with me to work out, but with her schedule I know it’s really difficult for her. Finding time to put her thoughts into words has been incredibly tough for her for the past few weeks. So without forcing her, I told her she could try. Of course, I asked everyone I know if they would join, but no one gave me a concrete yes. This got me thinking, not one of my friends has recently done something that they absolutely love. I asked my friend what her favorite thing was to do and she said it was watching her son play tennis. My favorite thing to do is watch Arlo babble nonsense and give me a huge smile – makes my day much better. We love the people in our life so much and dedicate so much of our life to them that in the process we are losing a bit of ourselves. VJ loves watching NFL but hasn’t watched one game this season.
So I decided to start a campaign. Well technically it’s not really a campaign, but let’s count it as one. Twice every week every one of us will do something we absolutely love. For me, it’s reading a book while sipping some ginger lemon (green) tea or listening to music while writing. But I’m also going to make this as a workout campaign. So you can do something to either relax or go for a walk/run/job.
So here are the rules:
- It shouldn’t involve another person.
- It shouldn’t be something that tires you.
- It shouldn’t be something you have to force yourself to do.
- Tag it with #loveourselfchallenge on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, Pintrest and any other social networking sites I have missed.
- Challenge a loved one too.
It can be something as simple as taking a longer shower or pooping on your own. It can be as complex as wanting to paint something or inventing a new dish.
So here we go – Let’s Love Ourself!
Love,
Po
