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Love Your Body As It Is
… Or Should You?
“Love Your Body as It Is” is a wonderful statement … theoretically. By all means, wherever you’re at in life, be happy with whom you are. However, there is a dangerous side to this phrase. While it implies self-love, an essential element for high self-esteem, it also potentially allows for self-acceptance at the cost of self-improvement. In most aspects of life, self-acceptance – or complacency – can be problematic. Complacency tends to halt progress.
A personal example of this occurred in high school. I was failing in the subject of chemistry. I hated it with a passion as it seemed futile for me to study it; my mind blanked out every time I opened my text book. I believed I was genetically doomed to fail this seemingly insurmountable challenge. Imagine the damage that would’ve resulted if I was told to love and accept myself as I was (a failure in chemistry). Instead, my teacher coached me into not accepting anything less than success. After seeking help from one of the brightest chemistry students, I began to discipline myself by devoting the necessary time and effort to improve my existing status. I strove to be as good as the best students. Although I never did get the perfect score, my grade of C+ was so much better than an F. In the process, I learned about determination, diligence, and sacrifice.
In our culture, striving for excellence in most areas of life is not only acceptable, it’s expected, particularly with academic and vocational endeavors. Yet, in the area of health, fitness, and physique, striving for excellence is deemed a negative attribute; it’s even viewed by some as the cause of eating disorders and unrealistic hopes. Interestingly, though, when being slim and agile was the expected norm (1940s through 80s), anorexia, bulimia and obesity rates were much lower. People expected to be healthfully slim … and they were.
If a person gained extra fat weight, they modified their nutritional intake and/or increased their physical activity, accordingly. The side effect for such social expectations was a healthier culture, overall (low rates of obesity, diabetes, cancer and heart disease), and much lower health care costs.
The danger with the “Love Your Body as is” philosophy is that it suggests that improvement is redundant. Would it be okay to tell smokers to accept themselves and be happy with whom they are, without changing for the better? How about drug abusers and alcoholics, or children who’re failing chemistry? Do we teach and encourage them to love who they are, as they are, with no need to change? After all, the world should accept them for who they are, right?
Clearly, this is dead wrong as there would be grave consequences when a person who is failing in one aspect of life gives up and decides that it’s okay to fail and that all that’s needed is an image change. The enemy of success is complacency, or self-acceptance; this will lead to rapid degeneration. Either be proactive with your health or force your body to degenerate rapidly, leading to weaker muscles, slower metabolism, increased fat storage and the resulting health challenges.
Educate yourself; create an understanding of the human body’s design and potential. Once you have a true understanding of what optimal living is, cultivate determination, discipline, and diligence. Ultimately, to be successful, cultivate a passion for well-being, for the freedom of life and movement that comes with being fitter, leaner, and stronger.
Love your body? Absoulutely! Love it so much that you take care of it. Love it so much that you make physical health a priority. Love your body so much that if there is a problem with it, in terms of excess fat or diminished health, you don’t blindly say love it as it is. Instead love it for what it’s capable of – which is endless health, energy, and vitality...and then take action to live life to its fullest!
LOVE YOUR BODY – for what it’s capable of - then pursue it!
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