What Do You See?

(I originally posted these words three years ago. It was the first time I fought, and it was an incredible experience. It popped up in my memories and felt that it’s just as meaningful now as it was then, so I’m sharing here today).

Ladies- I want you to take a good look at this photo. This is me, doing a point Muay Thai fight at 118 lbs. In my head, 118 is REALLY tiny. (I generally hang at about 125). For some reason, that number in my head is just a small person’s weight. My initial gut reaction (pun intended) to seeing this photo was, “crap! My shorts needed to be higher to hide that stomach hanging out!” You guys, at 118 pounds, a number that I mentally associate with a “skinny” person, I STILL found something to pick apart on my body. I still looked, and found, something that wasn’t quite “right”.

And then…mental shift. I looked at this picture and decided not to see what was WRONG with my body, but what was RIGHT. I instead saw a mom of four children, all birthed by c-sections, who is amazing and capable and learned something new as an adult and went out and kicked some major butt. She is brave and courageous and STRONG. She works out and pushes her body to new levels. And THAT is the woman I want to see in the mirror. THAT is the woman I want my daughters to see each day.

My encouragement to you…whatever your “dream weight”, “skinny weight”, “whatever weight” might be, how we see ourselves starts in our minds. It’s a mental battle. Work out. Get stronger. Set goals. But also appreciate your body and what it can do along the way and at any point along the journey. Because even at your “skinny weight”, you can, and will, still be able to find something to complain about. Don’t.