What the Body Confidence Journey REALLY means

I describe working on body confidence as a JOURNEY rather than a destination.

There isn’t some quick fix for better body confidence or a definitive end point.

It’s a constant process of learning and growing, and it’s the process (i.e. the journey) that provides the benefits.

BUT what does it really mean to embark on the Body Confidence Journey?

In this post, I explain exactly what you need to commit to and what you can expect from the Body Confidence Journey.

Watch or read below:

Body confidence – a journey, NOT a destination

To me, improving the way you feel about your body is best described as a journey. That’s because it’s the journey itself that provides the learning and benefits.

There isn’t some magical destination called ‘body confidence’. Like so much in life, having a better relationship with your body takes lifelong, consistent effort.

The body confidence journey is NOT a quick fix. It’s the complete opposite of the products we’re sold as solutions for better body confidence like diets and beauty products.

In my experience, people choose the body confidence journey once they are sick of diets and other physical solutions that fail to deliver the body confidence they seek.

What to expect on the body confidence journey

If you haven’t taken the decision to embark on the body confidence journey yet, what are you really signing up for?

I think it’s important to be clear about what body image work is all about, not least because there are still so many misconceptions about what it means.

Embarking on the body confidence journey is as much about giving up certain ideas and beliefs as it is taking on board new ones.

Once you know what’s involved, you get to decide whether it’s the right route for you either now, or in the future.

Choosing the Body Confidence Journey means letting go of many things, such as:

• The belief that your body has to look a certain way for you to be worthy;

• The need to change your body physically in order to feel better in it;

• The approval of others for the way you look;

• The tendency to judge other peoples’ bodies as well as your own.

The Body Confidence Journey also means that you are committing to learn how to:

• Treat your body with kindness, compassion and respect;

• Be gentle and forgiving to yourself along the journey;

• Change the mind-set you have about your body;

• View your body as a vehicle to achieving your dreams NOT an ornament;

• Navigate and challenge the popular beliefs about bodies and appearance.

A road less travelled, but worth it…

The Body Confidence Journey may not be the path that society promotes, but it’s the one that will bring you greater peace and happiness in the long term.

I can’t promise that the journey will bring you immediate results or prevent you from ever feeling bad about your body.

BUT, I can promise that if you commit to letting go of the beliefs and behaviours that derail body confidence and instead learn strategies and beliefs that support it, you’ll be better equipped to deal with ‘bad body days’.

Are you ready to embark on the Body Confidence Journey? I’d love to know.  Please leave me a comment below.