Pledge To Be Perfectly Imperfect

Thanks to the age of social media, dieting advice, fitspo (fitness inspiration, it’s a real term!), and new “experts,” body image ideals and diet “nos, don’ts, and shouldn’ts” are ever-present. The pressure to be perfect – to fit the mold of the 6-pack abs and thigh gap world – can drive us to push our bodies to extremes. These extremes can cause troubled or disordered eating, dysmorphic or negative body image, and the use of exercise as punishment. When we take to restrictive eating and listen to the diet dogma, we punish ourselves when we “fall off the wagon” or eat a “forbidden” food (for some diets, that includes fruit and some vegetables!). The negative mantra that plays through our heads or that comes out of our mouths in the company of others exacerbates the shame we feel and the failure we experience.  In the end, we don’t reach the perfection we strive for and continue the vicious cycle of beating ourselves up, searching for the next quick fix, and suffering the consequences all over again, leaving perfection out of our reach every time.

But what if we gave all that up? What if we stopped reading the diet books and memes, stopped measuring the amount of thigh meat we need to lose in order to have that gap, and stopped listening to the talking heads with no basic training in nutrition or science?

What if we pledged to be Perfectly Imperfect?

What would that look like? What would that feel like?

What if we listened to the wise sages in our childhood who told us, “If you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all” and applied it to ourselves? Would you hear silence in your head? And what if we also quieted the outside noise by unfollowing, un-friending, and not reading any post, comment, success story, or book that fuels our negative voice for not reaching the “ideal” shape or weight? What would we do in that silence?

I’ve hit you with a lot of questions here, but I do have an answer of sorts. A solution.

Pledge to be Perfectly Imperfect.  Pledge to treat yourself with love and kindness regardless of what you weigh. Pledge to rid yourself of the negative voices in your head.  Pledge to choose a new mantra that is positive:  “I am beautiful the way I am,” or “I am choosing to nourish my body,” or “I am enough.” Pledge to love yourself and support your efforts towards health and longevity.  Pledge to show yourself compassion everyday, even when you may not have been your best self.  Pledge to learn to love everything about you; that belly might have carried a baby, those legs helped you cross a finish line, those arms, whether the muscles are defined or not, give the best hugs.  Pledge to treat yourself the way you would treat a loved one or a child.  Pledge to show yourself compassion, patience and acceptance. Pledge to be Perfectly Imperfect starting now.

Being Perfectly Imperfect won’t feel right immediately.  You will need to practice.  In fact, Perfectly Imperfect doesn’t have an ideal – practice will make progress, but there is no finish line.  You can only grow your self-love, self-compassion, and self-acceptance by being mindful of what you tell yourself and how you treat your body. When you turn off the external cues that call for perfection and begin to listen to your internal cues (I promise, they are there, even if you haven’t listened for a while), you will find peace and happiness to live your best life.

So what do you say?  Will you take the pledge?

If you would like to join me by pledging to be Perfectly Imperfect, take a photo of your hand with your new positive mantra written on it.  Tag me on Facebook (Beth Rosen, RD) or on Twitter (@GGLiving) or on Instagram with the hashtag #PerfectlyImperfectPledge.  I hope we can start a non-diet revolution together!

xo

B