Thursday 31 July 2014

Skinny=Happy?

The idea for today's post is one that I've often pondered and thought about, either from having conversations with friends, hearing stories on the news, or ultimately, experiencing myself.

Skinny=Happy

How many of us have looked in the mirror, scrutinizing our appearance and thought- If I was a little bit skinnier I'd be happy, healthy and confident- a new person!'
As though this idea that changing your body size will change your entire being.


There's a few questions that need to be answered first.
What is the 'perfect skinny' that will make you happy?
Will you stop once you reach your goal?
And how far are willing to go to reach it?
 (Has anyone seen this movie? Did you notice how thin this girl was?)
What are you going to do?
Are you going to go on a juice fast? A no carb/ no fat/ no sugar diet, or a diet of no food at all? Are you going to give up your favourite foods?
Are you going to give up on eating out with friends because you can't control the eating situations you will be in? Are you going to get anxious about eating something that's 'off-limits' in your eyes. Are you going to be jealous of those around you who are eating the things you want and seem fine about it? How far will you go?
First of all, I'd say that these are the sorts of things that we associate with and that make us happy:
  • family
  • friends
  • adventures
  • laughter
  • hobbies/interests
  • excitement and being amazed 
  • the list goes on and on
However the types of words that appeared in my above (very questioning!) paragraph were:
  • A repetition of the word- no
  • give up
  • control
  • Anxious
  • off-limits
  • Jealousy 
  • the list goes on and on...
 Those lists are practically polar opposites.. and yet we still associate this ridiculous need for skinniness as our journey to happiness!
 I guess what I'm trying to say here is that 99.99% of the time, becoming skinnier, when you genuinely don't need to, will not magically sort out all of life's issues and make everything perfect.

Instead? Why not enjoy the wonderfully blessed life you have?
Enjoy every opportunity thrown your way.
Spend time with your family, friends- loved ones
Enjoy time out with friends and a big piece of cheesy pizza that gets ear to ear grins from everyone.
Exercise to feel good, because you enjoy it.
Eat a salad because you genuinely want to eat a salad:
 post
Eat a burger because you genuinely want to eat a burger:

 Because really, these are the things that will make you happy.

If you still don't believe me, ask yourself this; Once you have reached your goal dress size and have reached 'true happiness' what happens when the inevitable happens- you gain weight? Does the world shatter, your life crumble and is your happiness ripped from your grasp?

Something to think about. This is just me Thinking Out Loud.
Thanks Spoons for the link-up :)


Thinking-Out-Loud

 Have a great day everyone! Don't be afraid to share whatever is in your noggin with the world! :D

4 comments:

  1. Such a great reminder to focus on the things that really matter! :)

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  2. Great post, Steph! There was a time where I thought being skinnier would make me happier, and when I got there, I realized that the opposite was true. The skinnier I became, the unhappier I became. The sacrifices just weren't worth being able to fit into a pair of smaller jeans. And that's saying nothing about how much both my physical and mental health suffered. Eep. Nope. I can definitely say that skinny does NOT equal happy.

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  3. I liked the dichotomy you created between recognizing what makes us happy and the correlating emotions/experiences and what doesn't. I truly think that when we spend all of our time focused on ourselves and our waistlines, etc, there's not enough room for others. As humans, we're naturally inclined to be self-centered, but I think it increases when we try and control things. I can think of several examples in my life about this. Not good but that means there's room for progress!

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  4. Thanks Liz, Amanda and Jen for your comments, I was worried about posting this post and I'm glad others feel the same way :)
    Steph x

    ReplyDelete

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