Do you see your beauty?

The human body is truly a wonderful, beautiful, and amazing thing. Just think about all the great things it does for you daily: breathing, walking, digesting food, doing everything it can to keep you from getting sick, and so much more.

When you appreciate your body, you acknowledge all the vital things your body does for you every day that keeps you alive and healthy.

So why, then, is our body the one area where many of us struggle to appreciate ourselves?

Many people, myself included, can be hyper-critical of how they look and their bodies’ size, shape, and appearance. Throughout my life, some of the deepest pain and self-loathing I’ve felt has had to do with feeling flawed or simply not good enough physically.

We live in a culture that has an obsession with appearance.

While there is nothing wrong with us wanting to take care of ourselves and even wanting to look good, I think that many of us go overboard with this.

We tend to compare ourselves to others, making us feel like we’re in constant competition.

Remember: life is not a competition. We are all growing and learning in our own ways. What if we stopped competing with other people and focused more on ourselves?

We forget that our ability to appreciate our bodies isn’t actually about how much we weigh, how tall we are, the size of particular body parts, how our skin looks, how much hair we have (a big one for me over the past two decades), or anything else. Instead, it all has to do with how we feel about our bodies and our appearance.

We can appreciate our body at any time and for any reason. There are so many things about our bodies that are great, work well, and look good. But, unfortunately, we often forget to focus on the good stuff about our bodies, instead choosing to pay attention to the areas where we think we “need work.”

These days we spend and waste way too much time comparing ourselves to others we see on social media. It’s easy to think that these people are perfect, but the truth is, no one is perfect.

Everyone has their flaws, and everyone has insecurities. Therefore, let’s stop comparing ourselves to other people.