Letting go of comparison

Hey guys,

So between moving shenanigans (the navy loves shenanigans), anxiety about where we are going to move( we find out in 4 days!! EeeeK) and competition prep (2 weeks out…all favorite foods are GONE) my life has just been pretty crazy. But! I wanted to take the time to talk to y’all about something really important today.  

It’s that time of year where people give up things they love, aka LENT. Originally I wasn’t planning on doing lent because I already gave up some of my favorites for this show like Peanut butter and cereal…I flippin LOVE cereal.  But then I realized I could give something so much more important than food up.

I went over the the gym today to practice some posing and work my abs. I usually bring my phone with me to watch professional athletes pose so that I can mimic them. As I was standing in the mirror contorting my body around (Posing is actually really uncomfortable) I started noticing how different my body looked from some of the pros. Yes, they have been doing it for a while but, I started to think about how perfect they looked compared to me. I felt super discouraged…I thought to myself “whats even the point of working out…” I hate admitting this.

People may look at me and my Instagram and believe that I am 120% in love with my body all day every day. But, quite honestly Im not. I get out of the shower almost every day stare at myself in the mirror. Some days I get out of the shower and think Hot bananas! I got Abs! I got Muscle! Whoop whoop! time to listen to techno go to the gym and get swooooooole. Yea, that’s pretty much what goes through my head. However, there are other days that I look in the mirror and stare…and stare…and turn…and stare and think wow. I am so imperfect. I dream of getting sponsored and becoming a fitness model however, its these days that I just don’t believe it’s possible. I don’t have a long torso, Im short, and someday’s I don’t feel lean enough blah blah blah.  It’s funny…because if we had nothing to compare ourselves to, we would wake up every day thinking we are the most beautiful woman in the world.

But. I am ready to get these lies out of my head. This year for Lent I plan on giving up comparison. I have talked about many times how it steals so much joy and happiness. And that is so true. God has blessed us with such beautiful bodies and lives…why listen to the lies?? So from here on out whenever I catch myself thinking about how much better I could look, or how I don’t look like some chick on Instagram, I am going to refocus my thoughts on God and what he has blessed ME with. For example, the fact that I can even go to the gym and work out is a blessing…and I LOVE it. Also, God made each of our bodies unique and different. That should be celebrated not hated. I mean, I love the fact that Im small. I’m a 5’3 lil munchkin, with monkey toes, and strangely happy and joyful24/7 ;). And quite honestly I DO love my body and think it IS beautiful. And I don’t want anyone else’s body, but my own. Why?! because mine was designed specifically for me. By God. And how awesome is that. And HE did NOT make a mistake.You were designed the way you are for a purpose! So good bye comparison. You’re going in the freezer where my peanut butter currently is. But…my peanut butter is coming back out after two weeks( THANK GOODNESS), comparison is NOT ;)

Just like giving cookies up for lent, this too is going to be hard…and I’m sure I will fail at times. But these next few months I am going to make a conscious effort to not let negative thoughts creep up on me ruin my day. I hope soon this will become a habit. I encourage YOU to also to give up some sort of negativity in your life for lent. Let’s see how we can grow and change.

Love you all!

Mandy :)