Good afternoon everybody. It is 3 p .m. How are
you guys doing today? I covered dieting for weight
loss the other day and I also covered BMI. And
I wanted to make sure that we have a good understanding
of what I'm talking about when I say you're caring
for your body, okay? When I say you're caring
for your body, that means you're also thinking
about how you look. Not just how you look in
the mirror or how you think you look. You also
have to consider other people's viewpoints as
to how you look to them, okay? Just because you
think you look fat doesn't mean you actually
are, okay? So today I'm going to go ahead and
cover positive body image, okay? Every day we're,
you know, we are bombarded with images of perfection,
perfect lives, perfect bodies, perfect children.
I don't like that last one. All held up for inspection
via social media, which, by the way, I don't
really care much for. because it can be used
in a lot of negative connotations. These images
are hard to live up to, so perhaps it is no wonder
that charities warn the mental health problems
are rising, especially among young people. It
is, however, possible to take steps to protect
yourself against the onslaught of perfection.
I'm mainly talking about the... The teenagers,
you know, they always try to want to keep up
with everybody else. But then this is not just
prominent with them. You know, adults also have
this issue as well. One of the known functions
of this is keeping up with the Joneses. And honestly,
this whole thought of being able to keep up with
the person next to you. I mean, you see they
have it. That means you have to have it. Don't
do that. Because all this is going to do is make
you more and more uncomfortable with yourself
to the point where you're not satisfied with
the way you are and you want to basically be
them, okay? The only valuable weapon to develop
is a positive body image and acceptance of your
body and both its good and bad points, okay?
And I'm going to cover some stuff that will help
you become more confident and comfortable in
your own skin as best as I can with the information
that I have with me, okay? So, quick question.
What is a body image? I'm going to let you think
about that for a minute. I'm going to take a
short break and I'll be right back. So I have
a coordinator with me who also helps me come
up with ideas of things to use in examples. And
when he showed me the one of perfect children,
I was just like, that just sounds terrible. Anyway,
so I asked you the question in the last piece.
What is a body image? Your body image is how
you see yourself physically, both when you think
about yourself and when you look in the mirror.
Yes, in the mirror. Body image is affected by,
and I'm going to list some stuff here, okay?
Bear with me. Like I said, my English isn't that
great today for whatever reason. How you feel
about your body, including your height, weight,
and shape. Your belief about your appearance,
which may include views about the right appearance.
how your physical body feels to you as you basically
move around now body image is also affected by
stereotypes and beliefs including those of the
people around you as well as your own so please
keep this in mind having a positive body image
does not mean that you think everything about
your body is perfect after all nobody's perfect
not even supermodels I'm pretty sure somewhere
on their bodies, despite how they flaunt it,
there's at least one small flaw somewhere they're
trying to keep covered. Now as to where it is,
who cares? Because I'm not a pervert. So, instead,
positive body image means accepting your body
for what it is, celebrating your natural shape
and size, and how your body performs, right?
People with positive body images understand that
personal appearance has very little to do with
the ability or character of the person. Your
skills, your attributes, your features, these
are what make you who you are, not what you look
like. Though, I will admit, dressing professionally
does help. Okay? But then, that's about it. And
personal grooming. I'm sorry, I forgot that.
They are confident and comfortable with themselves,
and they do not waste time worrying about their
bodies. That's what a positive image is, and
people who have it. And to develop a positive
body image, developing that image also or helping
someone else who needs to do so requires three
main skills and or characteristics. Some of them
you may have heard before if you've listened
to my moral series, but I'm going to go ahead
and cover them in short supply real quick once
more. After this break. I need a break so I can
breathe too. So, talking about those three skills
and characteristics, now that I got me some water,
the first one is good self -esteem. You remember
we covered this. It's closely, closely linked
to this, which is how you feel about your abilities
and can be best thought of as your inner voice.
Those with low self -esteem may also have a more
negative image of their bodies because they have
a generally low opinion of themselves and their
abilities, which is also linked to self -confidence.
Improving yourself in STEAM requires building
up your view of yourself. It means taking control
of your inner dialogue and ensuring that it becomes
more positive instead of focusing on what might
go wrong. It is important to focus on what is
already good. As you remember, we have covered
that. Next is a positive attitude. The second
element is so closely linked to self -esteem.
Positive thinking. Or a positive attitude is
the idea that you can change your life by thinking
more positively. If this sounds a bit fluffy
and non -scientific, or sounds like a potato
in a sack, consider the placebo effect. A well
-known example of the power of positive thinking.
Um, hold up. Most people don't know what that
is. Alright, so the placebo effect is... A phenomenon
often seen in clinical trials and other tests
of new medicine. Clinical trials usually involve
the three groups of patients. One given the new
medicine, second given something that looks like
the new medicine but has no effect. In other
words, a placebo, if you will. And the third
is given no medicine at all. Doctors often notice
that the patients given the non -effective medicines
show signs of improvement. This has been documented
over and over again. There is no clinical reason
for this improvement. The medicine that they
are given cannot cause these effects because
it contains no active ingredients whatsoever.
The only conclusion is that these patients improve
because they believe they have been given something
that will make them better. i'm saying placebo
effect i'm pretty sure it's pronounced placebo
but i digress and it should you know basically
that's the placebo effect and it shows the power
of the mind okay if you believe it it becomes
true three very practical ways to help you avoid
developing negative views of your body and to
help you think more positively or try to avoid
perfectism i'm sorry perfectionism Man, I can't
talk today. Nobody is perfect and trying to be
perfect in any sphere is only going to lead to
problems in the long term. Good enough actually
is good enough. Don't make any comparisons. It's
easy to fall into the trap of comparing your
life or your body with others and thinking that
you're inferior in some way. Social media makes
this especially likely because most people are
presenting carefully curated images of their
lives designed to look better. than the actual
reality. Avoid comparisons and try to simply
celebrate others' success as well as your own.
It'll make you feel better. And the third one
within these connotations, within the connotations
that I'm telling you, is to avoid the temptation
to criticize or judge others anyway. It's always
easy to criticize, unfortunately being highly
critical is a bit of a habit and once you start
to use this approach with others it tends to
rebound you. A sense of justice is good, but
you also need to give everyone including yourself
a break from time to time. Not rushing to judge
is likely to make you a kinder and more pleasant
person to be around. The third thing is emotional
awareness and self -control, sometimes called
emotional stability. Finally, to manage your
views about your body, you need to be aware and
in control of your emotions. I keep saying this
a lot throughout all my podcasts, but I should
say something about how important it is. If you
hear something repeated more than three times,
especially if it's something that everyone says
is critical, then you should probably do something
about it. That means that it's something important.
that you may be lacking and or need. There will
be times when you see or hear things that will
upset you and affect your view of your body,
and at these times you need to be able to understand
what you are feeling and why. To help you master
and manage those emotions and feelings, avoid
them affecting your body image on a personal
basis is a healthy thing to do. Some activities
you can do to develop a better body image. If
you're struggling to develop a more positive
image of your body, you may find some of these
activities helpful. I'm going to list off five
things that could help you. First off, make a
list of all the things that your body helps you
to do. From the essentials like breathing through.
taking exercise and getting you to places you
want to go or to see people you love or care
for. Remind yourself of all the things you couldn't
do without your body and celebrate it for what
it does do for you. Two, make a list of 10 things
that you really like about yourself not related
to your appearance and remind yourself that your
appearance does not affect who you are. Third,
surround yourself with positive people. people
who feel good about themselves who help you to
do the same if you spend time with people who
are constantly doing themselves i'm sorry doing
for themselves better and you as well then you
will start to feel that it's true positive thinking
is catching um but so is a negative attitude
so please be careful who you're around four Wear
clothes that you like and that make you feel
confident. Confidence shines through how you
stand and move and is hugely attractive. However,
please, however, dress appropriate for the situation
that you're going for. It's okay to be comfortable
and happy with what you're wearing. But if you're
going for an interview, going in there in a tank
top and shorts is probably not going to get you
the job. Okay? Five, look after yourself. Give
yourself a treat by going somewhere nice or spending
time doing something you love. Remember to value
yourself and celebrate you being you. Bottom
line is this. A poor or negative body image can
be the starting point of a serious mental illness,
including eating disorders or anorexia, as well
as anxiety and depression. And if you think you're
suffering from one of these conditions, you should
seek professional help. Building and maintaining
a positive body image is therefore important
as a result. Learn to accept yourself and your
body and even just to give yourself a break every
now and then is one of the most important skills
for our mind. So keep this in mind, okay?