“There is no power in looking silly and not caring that you do” – Amy Poehler
Yesterday I posted a quote from a podcast I did with the amazing @summerinnanen and the post was overwhelmed with trolls. I woke up this morning tired because frankly I’ve had to defend my position way too much this week. So I deleted it. It’s the first time I’ve ever deleted something on my page in 2 years.
Yesterday the quote said that body positivity is not caring what you look like. It was one sentence out of an hour long conversation and was a sentiment I stand by. I didn’t delete it because I take it back or regret saying it. I deleted it because I’m bored of having to explain myself to people who couldn’t even be bothered to read the caption, let alone listen to the podcast and hear the context in which I said that sentence.
Not only is BoPo about loving your body but ALSO not caring what you look like, not caring whether you look stupid or silly or hell, even unflattering because when you find body confidence, you realise what you are doing is ALWAYS more important than what you looked like while doing it.
So many girls spend more than half of their day consumed with thoughts about their appearance and so yes, it’s liberating as hell to let those thoughts go.
By chance, I found this quote deep in some folder of random stuff on my computer this morning and I had kept this from years ago. This is where my confidence journey began – realising that my appearance always dictated my actions and deciding I was going to stop.
And it hasn’t dictated my life since. In 2016, I went paddle boarding and looked stupid as hell when I fell arse first into duck weeds in the middle of a london canal and had to take the tube home like that. I went to dance classes even though I’m pretty sure my dancing could be made into a meme. I even crashed at a friend’s house in yesterday’s clothes and contacts but really wanted to go to the pride parade so I did – just as I was! And ended that day running through Hyde park in the pouring rain having the best time. And most of all, I started embracing my natural make up free face because I learnt my appearance doesn’t affect my performance.
If you can’t love your appearance yet, it’s a good place to start.
#scarrednotscared