I don’t normally do this sort of thing, but I saw a link on Twitter today that came from SparkPeople.com that asked “How Healthy is your body Image?”

I decided to take the quick quiz and see what my results were. This is what I came out with.

How Positive is Your Body Image?

Body image affects how you feel about yourself, how you project yourself, and how you care for your own health. Answer the following questions to find out where your body image stands now–and how you can improve it.

You have a love-hate relationship with your body.

You have a healthy perspective on some things but could stand to re-evaluate a few of your views and/or behaviors and how they affect your self-esteem and body image. Here are 5 ways to improve your body image:

Say something nice about yourself. For every negative thought, come back with a compliment. If you need to, write a few on post-its and stick them to the mirror or your computer screen.
Retrain your brain. Practice mindfulness by realizing your thought patterns, and reversing them if they are damaging. For example, when flipping through a magazine or watching television, if you notice yourself thinking, “Wow, if I only looked like that, then I’d be happy,” remind yourself that looking like that requires make-up, special angles, airbrushing, and sometimes very restrictive diet and exercise plans (as well as great genetics). Plus, happiness is a state of mind, not the shape of your body.
Stop criticizing yourself and start criticizing the ads. Research the techniques that their creators employ to get the final, unrealistic result, and analyze ads instead of taking them at face value.
Exercise because it makes you feel good. If you hate the gym but drag yourself there just because you want to maintain your appearance, stop going! Instead, find an activity that you enjoy, like hiking, swimming, dancing, walking, biking, gardening, or sports, and stay fit that way instead.
Be patient with yourself. Years of brainwashing won’t disappear overnight. But if you adopt these techniques, bit by bit you’ll learn how to like your body. After all, it’s the only one you’ve got, so you’re much better off appreciating it!

Now I am the sort of person that feels that there must be a point to everything. So I think the best thing that I can take out of this is a new healthy habit. That said I am going to put Post it Notes on both of my computers and on the mirrors in both my bathrooms AND one on the fridge too just for good measure.

Maybe some of you would like to help me or join me in my Post-It-Note for a Healthy Body Image mission. I know I have some body dysmorphia issues. This is my attempt and recognizing the problem. It is also my first New Year goal for 2013 – I plan to have 13 of them. The first will be keeping these positive reminder post it notes, 5 at a time that I will change out each month of the year, in places in my life that I will see daily and will remind me about the positive things I like about myself.

Maybe if you guys want to help me, we can make a little game of it. In fact … I will add a post it note somewhere in my house anytime one of you post on this blog a positive compliment that you might think might help me remember to love myself a little more, and in return I will do return the favor for you with the same and you can post my comment somewhere in your house for a day or two to help remind you to see the beauty others see in you.

So to participate you’ll need some post it notes, a pen and a positive attitude.
You’ll need to come up with 5 Positive Body Image Statements about yourself. Please feel free to post them here and share yours with me!
Then post a comment on my blog with 1. Positive Body Image Statement you’d like me to use and I will post one back for you to add to your repertoire.

I’ll be doing this for 12 months in 2013 and changing my 5 statements once each month. You can participate with me as long as you want 🙂

Oh and you know… of course… at the end of this… we’ll pick some of our favorite Positive Image Statements and do something cool with them. ( wink wink )

Come on Seekers, play with me, help motivate me and let me help motivate you.