My Secret Weapons
Several weeks ago I published a post about my Influenster Vitality VoxBox. Influenster is a community of people who test, review, and promote products as they see fit. If you qualify for one of their campaigns, they mail you a box containing the product(s) you will be trying. Thanks to all my friends and followers, I received my first VoxBox rather quickly and it was full of wonderful goodies. Once you receive your box, you are given a task list: write reviews, promote via social media, take pictures, etc. The best way to qualify for future Influenster product campaigns is to complete the tasks and earn more badges.
I've completed 9 out of the 10 tasks required to earn the Vitality VoxBox badge and for awhile I was just going to throw in the towel on the whole "Influenster thing." You see, the last task is to "Share the secret weapon to your #BikiniReadyLifestyle." One of the products in the Vitality VoxBox was a sample of Bikini Ready Energy Gummies. The name is pretty much self-explanatory: the gummies claim to boost metabolism and increase energy to make your body bikini ready.
I've fought hard to walk in recovery from an eating disorder and I know that several of my readers are fighting similar battles. Life and death battles. It seemed irresponsible of me to write a blog post on a product that plays into the struggle of so many men and women. So I wasn't going to do it.
But as I completed more and more tasks, this one task was all that stood between me and my badge (I know this sounds a little bit dramatic, but go with it). So I read the task over again: "Share the secret weapon to your #BikiniReadyLifestyle." As is commonly the case, I was making something simple into something quite complicated. The task wasn't asking me to endorse a product I didn't believe in; it was asking me to share my secret. What a great opportunity to share a piece of my journey with the blogging community in an unexpected way!
To most people, being "bikini ready" usually means being thin and tan. Not to me. To me, being "bikini ready" means being comfortable in my own skin; confident and strong. Plus, the whole tan thing...I don't get it. Everybody knows that if you already have a tan on day one of pool season, you did not get it naturally. I go to the pool to get a tan. If you already have a tan, why are you at the pool? But I digress. Today's mission is to reverse your concept of what "bikini ready" really means with...
My 5 Secret Weapons to a #BikiniReadyLifestyle
Prayer. I believe in the power of prayer. No journey toward self-improvement will be successful without God's intimate involvement in the details of each and every step. Prayer covers a multitude of weapons needed to conquer a battle. Whether your struggle is to gain, lose, or maintain weight, you will not experience victory without the healing power of God. Ephesians 6:10-16 talks about putting on the armor of God. When you're fighting a battle, you're going to need some armor. And God's armor is the best you'll ever find.
Positive Affirmations/Truth Statements. We feed ourselves lies day in and day out. It's habit. "I'm stupid." "I'm ugly." "I can't do anything right." "I'm worthless." NO, NO, NO! It's time we start speaking positive truth into our lives! "I am smart." "I am beautiful." "I am enough." "I am worthy." My personal favorite is this: "I am a daughter of the King." I simply can't say the words without smiling in my soul.
A Support System. We like to pretend that we can do this on our own. We want to be independent and prove ourselves. But the truth is that we're wired to need each other. When we're fighting a battle, we need people who will keep us accountable, yet encourage us when we need it. We need people who believe in us and who are willing to fight with us from time to time.
Balance. At first this number read "A Balanced Diet." But as I started writing, I realized that the real concept that I was trying to communicate was the importance of balance. We need some balance in our lives, people. When our lives are out of balance we start to grasp desperately at things that give us a feeling of control. Food and exercise are 2 of the most common things we latch onto and it can manifest itself in a variety of ways. We should always strive for balance in life, food, exercise, sleep, work, and play.
Vigilance. This is so important, yet frequently overlooked. We tend to celebrate once we've achieved our goals and we should! But the work does not end after the celebration; we need to be vigilant in all we do. We cannot become complacent or content. We must keep a watchful eye out for anything that threatens to steal away our freedom, for the battle is even harder the second or third time we fight it.
So these are the things I focus on in my attempt to feel comfortable in my own skin. I want to be confident and strong, not thin and tan. I don't care so much whether I'm bikini ready, so much as I'm ready. Ready for whatever life brings; the good and the bad, the daunting and the serene, the laughter and the tears.
Dear Lord,
Make me strong, courageous, confident, and ready for all that you have in store for me.
Amen.