Embracing Your Imperfections {and seeing yourself for the person you truly are}

I'm sure you have all been hearing a lot about the Dove Real Beauty sketch video over the past few months. I have been doing a lot of thinking about how to challenge my self-image, those descriptors that, if I uttered them, would probably cause the artist in the video {who is very talented, by the way} to sketch an image of me that is far from being true-to-life. I am certainly guilty of caving to body insecurity, and, being that it was something that I struggled with as a teenager and throughout college, it is difficult to break that terrible habit of self-scrutiny.  However, for every perceived "flaw" that I have identified, I have tried to come up with a challenge, a benefit of that seemingly imperfect feature.  To give a few examples:

• Perceived flaw: I have inherited unfortunately large thighs. BENEFIT: I would not have been able to run 26.2 miles on tiny little thighs.  Large runners' thighs are a symbol of my strength.
• Perceived flaw: My hair is voluminous and unruly. BENEFIT: There are so many women with thinning hair who would kill to have the kind of volume that I have.  I have natural volume without using volumizing shampoos or serums.  Also, I am convinced that whoever created straighteners did it just for me and my naturally wavy locks :)
• Perceived flaw: The fact that I have to wear glasses is not that fun.  BENEFIT: However, I have learned from my dear Dan that my eyes actually change color from blue to green depending on the day, which I think is pretty darned awesome.  So even though I may begrudge my eyes for not being able to see very well or tolerate contacts all the time, I still think they're pretty cool.
• Perceived flaw: I have enormous feet {I typically wear size 11, but have to bump it up to 12 for my running shoes}.  BENEFIT: Okay, I can't spin this one haha.  It sucks to have feet this big {even though they are proportional to my height}, especially when trying to find cute, fashionable shoes.

So what am I trying to say here?  I am telling you to challenge those negative statements, voiced or not, about your own appearance.  I'm not going to lie, on more days than not, I hate those thighs, but this was the body that I was given, so I might as well accept it {while still exercising and trying to eat healthy foods, of course!}.  My favorite part of the Dove video was when the women compared the images of themselves, the one based on their own description of themselves and the other as they actually appear to others.  After witnessing the internal struggle of each of the women beating herself up for a perceived flaw, it was so heartwarming for them to see how others view them {and, in all of the cases, they were significantly more beautiful!}. 

Also, while flat-chestedness might be in that "flaw" category for most people, I have always seen it as a benefit. I can fit into anything without spilling out of it, and I can run without serious discomfort {or multiple sports bras}! Win!  So ladies and gents, remember, despite all of those ads that tell you that you need to change something {or many somethings} about yourself, try to love the body you were born with.