Rewiring Our Body Image: #MyBodyHas

Do you remember the first time you had a negative thought about your body? I know I don’t. All I know is I was young, and that since then, there have been too many to count. Sometimes, thoughts of shame about my body have come as easily to me as breathing. They fly through my brain and land in my heart bringing a heaviness that is hard to shake. Because they’ve been making their appearance for years now, they leave in their wake a sense of defeat.

They tell me my body will never be enough.

My body that has enabled me to climb mountains. My body that has hugged hundreds of teenagers during my time in ministry. My body that has walked the red dirt streets of India. My body which has tasted delicious wine in the heart of Tuscany. My body that has stood on stages and spoke words of hope to people who needed to hear them.

It’s somehow, not enough.

My body that has overcome health issues, too many to count. My body that has shaped bread in my hands to feed those I love. My body which enables me to do work for others to see, and work no one will know I’ve ever done. Because it doesn’t look a certain way, weigh a certain amount, or fit into the jeans I used to fit into, these thoughts claim

My body is not enough.

Only recently, I have learned that it is possible for our brains to be rewired. To take control of these thoughts. Over the years, as many of us have learned to think negatively about our bodies, we’ve created actual pathways in our brains making it easier for these thoughts to occur. But in the same way, we can create new neural pathways. We can learn how to think and believe the actual truth about our bodies. We can rewire our brains to believe better and truer things about ourselves.

Because it doesn’t look a certain way, weigh a certain amount, or fit into the jeans I used to fit into, these thoughts claim my body is not enough.

But, we’re going to need some help. Today, I want to share with you some great resources that are helping me think new thoughts about my body. This isn’t an exhaustive list—and if you have any resources to share in the comments, please do. But they are a beginning. A beginning each of us must take to find hope, healing, and peace when it comes to living in our own skin.

Before I share the list though, I want to invite you to join me in doing the exercise at the end of this post. It is my hope that through using our own truths and the truths shared by others, we may experience freedom from body shame once and for all.

Eat With Joy by Rachel Marie Stone

Nothing to Prove by Jennie Allen

You Are Free by Rebecca Lyons

Write a List:

Just as I did in this post, write a list all of the things your body has done. Has it walked miles? Has it created art? Has it held the hand of someone you love? What has your body done to prove over and over that you are beautiful, and you are enough?

Then, if you feel comfortable, post your list on social with the hashtag #mybodyhas. Perhaps even start out with these words:

“It is swimsuit season. The time of year many of us women dread. The time of year in which a small bathing suit can make us feel anything but proud of our bodies. But instead of being ashamed of not looking the way I’d like to look in my swimsuit this season, I am going to remember:

My body has…”

As we go into Swimsuit Season, let’s celebrate our bodies for all that they are.

In your life, what beautiful things has your body done?

What thoughts do you need to rewire to truly appreciate your body?

*None of these books deal directly with body image, but all of them helped me heal and grow in the soul areas surrounding body image.

Are you in the midst of making a decision? Contemplating a life change? If so, you may be interested in my FREE Making Changes Checklist that I give to all my email friends. Want your free copy? subscribe here.