I Stopped Letting Body Shame Hijack My Life
Every time I stand up to my bikini-body jiblets, I get stronger.
Every time YOU stand up to YOUR bikini-body jiblets, you too will get stronger.
How do you do that exactly?
You #wearthedamnswimsuit
In spite of the jiblets.
Remember I told you about my mega assumptions-pool-azza at a public pool in Fort Collins, sure everybody was gonna start chanting "big legs"?
Just like that, the rumblings of ole nasty, body-shaming thought patterns can bubble up for a hot second, when I least expect it. I can’t tell you how many amazing life experiences I’d be missing out on, if I hadn’t decided that I was DONE letting body shame hijack my life.
Like this one!
After climbing 3 miles through breathtaking Utah desert terrain, my family and I arrived at the most spectacular waterfall my eyes had ever seen. I was hot, sweaty, and tired from the hike, but that water was calling my name!
I ditched my hiking skort, threw my phone to Raisa, grabbed my husband's hand, and RAN into the icy cold waters of Lower Calf Creek Falls. All of my inhibitions... left in the sand.
(Click below to watch video.)
Oh how my kids loved seeing their mama and daddy, acting so free - so silly - so wildly fun, out there under the hot, Utah sun!
I felt so incredibly connected to EVERYTHING - my husband, my kids, the water, the sun, the canyon walls, my body. After I plunged into the icy waters of the falls, it felt absolutely electric to explode out of the water into the blazing hot sun. I was flooded with gratitude, down to the very marrow of my bones, to be ALIVE.
No hiding. No jiblets. No shame. Just me, my soul-fire, and my body.
It was so pure, so delicious, so joy-filled, that I stole a rare scrap of time, when nobody else was swimming, dashed back out into the water, and posed for a picture. I wanted to remember how magnificent it felt to be in my today-body... my body that just powered through 3 miles of sizzling canyon to get to that spectacular waterfall.
I wanted to pause for a split second and celebrate how far I’ve come in this body of mine! It wasn’t long ago, that I’d have missed out on a moment like this, unwilling to bare my body while a crowd of onlookers stood on the shores.
I chose to work hard in my fight against body shame, and in that moment, I was living the reward.
Lemme tell you, it was worth it!
After years and years of jiblets convincing me that I wasn’t worthy of a swimsuit, I’ve come a long way, baby!
You remember the reason for those jiblets, right? Protection. At some point in our youth, we decided that the worst thing that could happen to us would be to have someone judge us, dislike us, reject us, make fun of us.
Many of us have spent our entire lives letting the jiblets run the show.
But let me tell you something. The worst thing that could happen to you is NOT having someone judge you, dislike you, reject you, make fun of you.
The worst thing that can happen to you is missing out on the waterfall moments of life, because you're stuck in some shit story about your body.
Most of us don't even realize that we're still living our lives according to jiblets that germinated in junior high.
But day-um, sisters. We're grown-ass women now, and we sure as hell don't need "protected" from the wild abandon of diving into an icy waterfall with our most favorite person.
One of the BEST things about being a grown-ass woman, is waking up to the fact that we have the power of choice.
You can CHOOSE how you want to be in your body.
How do YOU want to BE and FEEL in your today body? Do you know it’s a CHOICE?
I just want to hand out permission slips everywhere I go that say...
"You have permission to let go of old, fear-driven stories that are NOT serving you any longer."
"You have permission to enjoy your today-body!"
"You have permission to feel how you want to feel!"
"You have permission to claim your body, your breathtaking beauty, your life, as YOURS."
Surround yourself with women who are chock-full of permission-slips, and handing them out generously.
Be a jiblet-buster, and shame-breaker, yourself!
Take your stand against body shame.
Put a new narrator in place of the jiblets... one who is FOR you, not against you.
CHOOSE to show up for your life right now, in your today-body, not pining for your body of yester-year, or hustling for some fantastical body that you hope exists in the future.
You have a body. Therefore, you are worthy of truly LIVING in it.
The jiblets are flat outta control. You don't need their protection anymore. Time to let 'em go and power up!
Don't let those jiblets steal one more waterfall moment from you, sisters.
#wearthedamnswimsuit
In spite of the jiblets.
Practice makes progress.
And that's exactly how you do it.
xo Stasia