Debunking the myth of "perfect people": how to develop and maintain a positive body image throughout life.

Hello again, dear reader. In yesterday's discussion we pontificated on the importance of sending positive life goals. In order to enable someone to lead life to the fullest and best extent possible, having a positive goal is something to focus on and work towards to help strengthen character and self-esteem and self-reliance, as well as developing many other important life skills such as compassion and understanding. For today's discussion, I thought we would pontificate on the importance of developing and maintaining a positive self image (this is especially important for teenagers and young adults). All too often these days, we are bombarded on multiple screens (often simultaneously) with images of "perfect people." These perfect people have the best looks the best bodies. The best jobs try the best cars and have the best toys. The problem with these perfect people is that their lifestyle is often unattainable unless you are in the top 1% of earners in humanity being bombarded with these perfect images every day can have a lasting effect on someone's image of themselves and their self worth and self-esteem, which can of course lead to negative consequences. So hopefully this discussion will help explain some of the best ways to cultivate a positive self-image, to help everyone in the image full life...

How to Be Yourself and Cultivate a Positive Self-Image

A person’s real self is who they are when they release all of the labels, judgments, and stories that they’ve set upon themselves.  They become natural people when they release the pretentiousness and get rid of all of the masks.

People are always telling others to “be yourself” but most have no idea what these two words actually mean.   There’s a lot more to this little phrase than what they may realize.  It’s true that they know themselves better than anyone else could.  They understand their own feelings, know what they like and don’t like, and are probably their own best friend.

So it’s a puzzle as to why people compare themselves to others, fail to see their strengths, and frown when looking in the mirror.  These feelings mean that they’re a long way from being their true self.  They are being what others expect, and that’s why they are unhappy, emotionally spent, and disconnected.

These are some steps that will help with uncovering one’s real nature.

Follow your passion and be yourself by feeding your spirit, mind, and soul.

In today’s society, money is used as a measure of a person’s success. It can lead to one getting caught up in what are the ideals of the powerful and rich.  A lot of young professionals accept higher paying jobs to make others proud and to boost their ego.  They are unwittingly making themselves miserable in a job that isn’t fulfilling or enjoyable.

They’re lying to themselves by pretending to be happy while living their lives in quiet hopelessness. Sadly, people view one another in the terms of their titles at work and their salaries.  They believe that these two things are at the core of a person’s self-worth. People need to concentrate on just being themselves which in turn will feed the mind, spirit, and soul.  They need to make the change to cultivate their passion and find work that is fun.

Be yourself with your inner child and have some fun.

When children are young, they’re carefree and don’t care what anybody thinks about them because they’re happy right at that moment.  They’re their own characters because they haven’t been made to fit in with a society that frowns upon that.  The have fun running, playing, and jumping where ever they are and don’t care what anybody thinks.  Children are simply pure light and love.

When people get in touch with their inner child, they become free by playing, enjoying the moment, and having fun.  They need to understand just how serious and stiff they’ve become and tap back into that which has been forgotten.  People seem to play roles to fit in and crush their true nature because they fear what others will think.  Be free and have fun!

No matter who’s in front of you, be yourself by finding your inner strengths.

People need to embrace themselves and their personalities no matter how different they are from others.  They could be an extrovert who’s spontaneous or an introvert who’s a bit awkward.  These are just labels that aren’t important because a person is what they feel and think.

One needs to relax and get rid of all the pretending and never change their self because they want to fit in.  They need just to be themselves and find their strengths regardless of who ever they may face.  It other people are genuine; they’ll accept this “real” person.

Tune into your feelings and be yourself which will put you in a peaceful state.

When people tune into themselves, they achieve a sense of being at peace which makes them strong enough to deal with any stress or conflict.  When they are in touch with their feelings, they understand more about themselves when dealing with sadness, happiness, fear or anger.  These emotions will be acknowledged and accepted with no denial.

In this peaceful state, it’s easier for people to gain their composure and remain calm.  If they’re afraid, they’ll change their mindset to find the cause of the fear.  If sadness occurs, they’ll realize that to appreciate the happier moments; they must suffer some grief, and this is just a part of life.

Be yourself by becoming more aware of your thoughts.

It’s unbelievable how many negative thoughts run through a person’s mind every day.  And after a period of time, reality begins to take a form that’s based on these negative patterns of thinking.  So, people need to be aware of their thoughts and their quality. Spending time alone helps unlock your potential, and this should be done every morning.

Sit quietly for a few minutes and allow whatever thoughts come to mind to come in and then leave without paying them much attention. Then, throughout the day, people need to continue to observe their thoughts.  By becoming more aware of them and letting them go, people will be more in the present and can reveal their true nature.

Trust your intuition to be yourself.

Following your intuition is one of the most essential parts of being yourself.   Begin slowly by following those little urges and nudges you get in your solar plexus.  These small steps will lead to larger ones as you start to trust your intuition.  Then you’ll be transported to your authentic self, which is the real you.

Most people believe a wise decision is practical and serves a purpose, but this isn’t always the case.  By making a decision on what is thought to be right, and not what is felt to be right, it’s far harder to achieve harmony with who you are inside.  So make should make their decisions by following their intuition and their soul will be satisfied.

You need to get out of your shell to be yourself and become more authentic.

One of the biggest issues with people learning to be themselves is that they want to do everything at once.  They want to get rid of their masks and all of a sudden become totally authentic with everyone.  Well, it just doesn’t work this way.  The ways that they’re socially inauthentic need to be identified before they can be corrected one at a time.

People need to get out of their shell gradually to be more authentic in their lives.  This process begins by setting small goals to change and work to achieve them one by one.  These little goals will soon be reached, and people will find themselves acting entirely different when dealing with other people.

Calm down and be assured that it’s okay to be yourself.

A vast number of people feel tense or anxious when they’re trying to be themselves.   What they need to do first is to calm down while assuring that’s it’s perfectly alright to be themselves.  The trick here is that this is all done by some self-talk.  This is an essential skill to conquer, which is an inner dialog, in a way that’s reassuring and constructive.

They need to tell themselves that it’s okay to be their real self, and if others don’t like it, that’s their problem.  This self-talk helps the anxiety and tension disappear and will make it easier for people to interact with others in a social setting.

Deal with your anxiety

It is possible that you lack of positive self image is more than just a little lack of confidence. It could be a result of some serious social anxiety.  If this is the case these steps still might help, but you may need to go a step further. Fortunately Steve has a great collection of some of the most popular and effective books for dealing with anxiety. These anxiety books all have some good information, with differing presentation styles.

As always, dear reader thanks for listening, and there will be more to come soon guaranteed.