HHB Day 3: Take Selfies

I was planning on including this in the bender, because my #365project from 2013-2014 had such an enormous impact on how I view my self and my body, but I was listening to a #rachelhollis #rise podcast today and the topic of how many strong, powerful, amazing women hate their bodies came up in a big way in a discussion between Rache and the founder of It Cosmetics.

When Rachel reported that at her last RISE convention, 800 out of 820 woman reported that they HATED their bodies, I was shocked.

I mean, I shouldn't be shocked, I've been hospitalized three times for an eating disorder. I spent MOST of my thirties dodging pictures. I started planting the seeds for MYL a year and a half ago on instagram when I wanted to reach out to other women and spread the word about self-love, because I knew what it was to dislike yourself and the kind of work it takes to change it.

When it comes to learning how to love yourself, the best place I know to start is with selfies.

Yeah, you heard me.

But not just one or two. 365 to be exact. One photo every day for a year.

I did this in 2013, which you can see here on my old blog.

https://lifeoutsideoflaw.wordpress.com/2013/12/31/365project-update/

I was WAY heavier than I am now and still mired in a no swimsuit, no photos, no commemorating any moment in my life until I lost weight mindset.

And no, I didn't really lose much weight in that year. It wasn't about weight.

It was about SEEING myself, seeing my face and my body and getting to know all of the parts of myself through four seasons of a year. At some point, I had a huge shift. It wasn't vanity or pride or selfishness.

It was learning to love myself. OF COURSE I have fitness and health goals, just like I have goals and areas of improvement in every area of my life. But fundamentally, when I see my own face, I see a friend, as Liz Gilbert once perfectly stated in Eat, Pray, Love. I still take selfies. I still post them on insta, sharing everything I care about how to love myself. I sent the first one to my wife last night when she was away on a business trip.

Because the minute you start to love yourself, as a friend, this kind of magic happens where you have more time, more energy, more passion, more compassion. For everyone else.

And if you want to see my go full-tilt PREACH on this story, head to the My Yippie Life page on facebook, when I was too fired up to write and simply had to share.

You are a divine and beautiful creation. You just need to see it. Beginning by seeing the woman in the mirror as MJ once perfectly said.

XOXO Courtney