How to improve your self image through motivation
Self image is important. The way we feel about ourselves affects the way we act with others, including romantic interests, co-workers, friends, intercollegiate teammates, debate team members, chess club buddies, AA group participants, and so on. I tried to list a wide array of things there because everyone suffers from poor self image from time to time, and there are always things we can do to pull ourselves out of the slump.
The question is, How to improve ourselves through motivation. What does that mean? When you're motivated, you're exciting about something, you want to do it, you want to get involved, ready for the challenge or the fun or whatever. The fact is, though, that lost of people get motivated to try the latest ab cruncher and end up using it as an extra support beam for their guest bed. The way to improve our self image through motivation, then, is to follow up on the feeling of motivation, and not quite there; no; if we're motivated to become good chess players, we become good chess players, if we're motivated to improve our penmanship, we stick with it until we're writing beautifully, if we're motivated to get in shape, we get in shape, if we're motivated to help a rich prince from an impoverished African nation reclaim his rightful throne by a donation of a mere ten grand, which he'll repay a hundredfold as soon as the kingdom is righted again, WE DELETE THE EMAIL. There are good motivations, and not so good ones.
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For example, if trying to get into shape, you may be tempted to take substances that would improve your workouts but tear you down internally. That sort of thing. When we get motivated, we won't improve our self image by cheating. Let's look at a few things to consider when trying to improve our self image through motivation.
1. First and foremost forevermore, it's true what they say, as sticky sweet as it may sound: ultimately, your self image isn't going to come through excelling at this or that activity, straightening your teeth, growing new hair, buying new breasts, climbing up the corporate ladder, etc. THESE THINGS ALL CONTRIBUTE IMPORTANTLY (AND SUBJECTIVELY) TO A PERSON'S SELF IMAGE, HOWEVER, AND THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH WORKING OUT TO BE MORE HANDSOME OR BEAUTIFUL, IN FACT, IT'S RIGHT AS RAIN. Now that I've shouted, though, let me just reiterate. At some point in our lives we're going to have to like us because we're us and there's no one else like us. We may be weird, quirky, eccentric, but so is Kramer. Our friends and families often love us for our imperfections as much as our sort of kind of perfections.
2. Yes, that's over with. Let's talk about buying new breasts. Just kidding, but only slightly. There are lots of ways to change our image these days. We can get work done on our noses ears, eyes, lips, buttocks, you name it. I have friends who had plastic surgery on one are or another and they feel just great about it (and, I have to admit, they look pretty great too). But I'm talking about a guy who could smoke in the shower his nose was so big. I'm talking about a girl whose left ear looked like the wing of a big, pink bat. Too many perfectly normal, attractive people are going in to try to nudge themselves into Barbie Land, and too many are coming out having nudged themselves into the land of the Gruesome What Things.
3. It's best, really, to start with small things. Focus on those areas of your life with which you feel insecure. Say, you want better stomach muscles. Do 25 sit-ups a day. Say, you want to know more about romantic poetry. Read Byron for a half hour a day. Say, you want to rock climb. Take a class. Say, you want to quit drinking. Go to an AA meeting. Say etc. etc. etc. The fact is, that if you feel that little spark in your heart, that thing that says, Yes! I want to do this! And you follow up on it right away, and continue to do so, and start stand up if you fall and start over if you relapse, you'll not only become these things you want to be to improve your self image, your self image will improve in a deep, abiding, fundamental way, because you found yourself in the process of all that suffering.
