Chapter Two: How We Learned to Hate Our Bodies

As I continue to read Love Your Body, Love Your Life by Sarah Maria I realize that this book is exactly what I needed to read to help me get to a positive place. I wasn't even in the book store to look for a book for me. In fact, I found this book as I was heading to the front door to leave and it caught my eye.

Chapter Two focuses on understanding where the negative body obsessions started and how understanding the cause of the negativity can help you heal and move forward to a more positive place in your mind.

Unfortunately, I have no idea where my negativity comes from. I cannot pinpoint a specific moment and there were no traumatic events from my childhood that I can blame. Nothing out of the ordinary other than some intense teasing from 6th grade through my senior year of high school, but not enough to put me in such a negative place over ten years later.

The book lists the following as contributing factors to the problem: media, your brain, fast food/computers and your parents. 

For me, these are the top ten points that I  have taken from the second chapter:

"The root cause of NBO is not realizing that each and every one of us is intrinsically beautiful and inherently valuable exactly as we are, right now."

"Most people live from a place of delusion and illusion, believing that they need to change something or hold on to something in order to be beautiful, desirable, adequate, and worthwhile, and this is what we see reflected in our culture." 

"It's important to realize that beauty, or attractiveness, is a socially constructed phenomenon that changes constantly. As societies evolve and change, so does their concept of the 'ideal' body."

"It is only when you uncover and uproot the ultimate illusion- that you need to change in order to be beautiful, lovable, and worthwhile- that you can begin to change yourself, the media, and ultimately the world around you."

"Diet and lifestyle choices that you make from a place of love and acceptance have a far greater chance of success than ones premised on shame and inadequacy." 

"Self-acceptance and self-love provide you with the courage, the energy, and the enthusiasm to make choices that move you further in the direction of health and well-being." 

"It is only possible to accept others unconditionally when you accept yourself unconditionally."

"Although there are a variety of contributing factors, NBO has ultimately been caused and perpetuated by an erroneous reality that places your sense of self-worth in how you look, what you have, and what other people think of you."

"The solution comes from deciding to change your thought patterns and create a different reality."

"As you come to truly know yourself, your reaction to the media will change; your brain will be healed; you can break free from any limiting beliefs, thoughts, and behaviors that are keeping you trapped."

I can already tell this is going to be one of those books that I will read repeatedly and gain so much from. I feel like it's almost too good to be true, to find exactly what I needed exactly when I needed it. But at the same time I think that's why I found it.