Be Real. Be You. Bloom.

It makes me sad when I see posts online, like, "Real Women Have Curves." Or,  "Real Men Do Crossfit." Or, "I'm all about that bass. No treble." Or, ANY type of post that suggests that someone is "more real" or better than someone else because of something they do or don't do or have or don't have.

Unless you woke up in Geppetto's workshop, you are a real boy/girl, man/woman.

You've probably recently seen the whole kerfuffle about "The Dad Bod." And, whether or not it's sexy or sexist. I do think we place different values on men's and women's appearances. And, I'm not going to get into that here. But, at the bottom of it all, each of us, individually, spend so much time comparing ourselves to people who are not us. The real "us".

I love Dove's Real Beauty Campaign  for showcasing women of all different shapes and sizes. And, Dove's most recent campaign, #choosebeautiful,  featuring a powerful video showing women with the choice to enter a building either through a door marked "Beautiful" or one marked "Average." Which would you choose if you knew you weren't being watched? Would it make a difference if you knew you were being watched?

How often do each of us spend appreciating our features, our talents,  our strengths vs. comparing them to others'? Really, think about it. When was the last time you appreciated something about you?
Did what you wanted to do because it felt good? Because it made you happy and feel amazing? Where you did it without comparing yourself to anyone else but yourself? AND, to take it another step further, comparison to yourself without judgement?

I bet that's a tough one. Just last night, I found myself commenting how amazing the bodies of the female pro dancer bodies are Dancing with the Stars. And, at the same time thinking, "Wow! I wish my legs looked like that! I wish I could move like that!" And, immediately, I got to thinking about what type of workout routine I'd have to put together and what not. After a couple of minutes, I realized that I wasn't just appreciating them, but I was comparing myself with them, and  I took a breath and stopped.

Can I workout to get my body to look like that? Yes. Is it something that I necessarily want to commit to at the moment? No. I'm currently training race a fast 5k with Gidget! That's what's currently my goal because running with her makes me happy! Because training to be fast is fun! Will my goals change after the race? Probably. Will I sign up for a dance class or look up their workout routines? Maybe. But, I promise myself I won't compare my body and talents to  theirs. I will be appreciating both their talents and mine just the same.

Instead of comparing or judging, let's embrace who we are. I think we should be our happiest, healthiest selves. And, that's not to say that we don't have goals to aspire to, or that there aren't things that we can improve on. But, rather, for us to aspire to be the best version of ourselves: mind, body, and spirit. Enjoy being us. Appreciate being able to be, do, and have what is unique to each of us, while evolving to the place of being that is us at beautifully thriving, wherever that may be.