How we see ourselves is often a lot worse than reality, let's face it; we're all our own worst critics.
I did Warwick Racecourse parkrun a few weeks ago and they share pictures, so I went looking (as you would do) to see if I could find me and this is what I got; apart from me having a cuppa in the clubhouse afterwards! 😂
I don't know about you, but I've never been the most natural in front of a camera and as you can tell, I wasn't aware of the photographer taking my photo or I may have tried to awkwardly smile at it! 😕
But seeing the photograph made me think about how we perceive ourselves, how we judge ourselves, whether we're super-critical of ourselves, whether we see nothing but good in something, whether we go and compare ourselves to others.
The 2 photographs you see here are entirely identical, what I see are totally different things, depending how I'm feeling about myself, whether I'm feeling confident or not.
My comments about myself are entirely true.
🔸My feet do stick out, my brother spent a long time telling me when I was younger that I ran like a penguin, which is probably why I spent 30 years not running, ever!
🔸There does seem to be a roll of fat above the waistband, it's not fat, it's the vest and running belt underneath the top that you can see, it just makes it look like fat (I'm still used to seeing fat me 3+ years on).
🔸My face, well that's just my face...I was puffing and panting, I'd just run uphill and I still don't find running easy; I find it easier than I used to!
🔸Posture? I'm still learning, I'll always be learning and I hope I'll always want to.
It has taken a really long time to learn to not listen to the bit of me that doesn't like myself. I have learned not to compare myself to other people because I'm not them.
I train clients of all different shapes and sizes with varying levels of fitness and every single one of them has their own goal that they are wanting to get to; that's why it's called Personal Training, it is personal to each individual person.
One thing I have learned is that the person wanting to lose 5lbs can beat themselves up just as much as the person wanting to lost 10st. The same thing is going to get them to their goals; wanting to make a change and going out and doing it, even when it gets difficult. It's about learning to override those negative thoughts more than you did before.
Be proud of yourself, like yourself enough to feel like you are worth the effort to get to where you want to be. With all the help in the world it always comes down to you and I guarantee you are capable of so much more than you realise. ❤️