'The Secret' to feeling better

A few years ago, I read the book 'The Secret', and it completely changed my outlook on life. The underlying theme in the book is "If you want something, the Universe will conspire to make it happen". I thought at first that this was just one of those commonplace motivational books that are of no consequence whatsoever. But this book was different.

The book talks about the power of wanting something, and the power of determination through hardships. I tried it out myself with the smallest of things. Like getting a free cup of coffee or getting to meet someone you haven't seen in ages. And it happened! I met one of my oldest friends in the mall one day after weeks of wanting to meet her. You see, it's not just about wanting it, but about knowing that whatever you want is on it's way. So being patient is very important. One of the examples in the book is that if you go to the mailbox everyday thinking its 'just another bill', then its probably going to be just another bill.

Let's think about our movie starts for a minute. They wake up everyday, feeling rich, famous and beautiful. So, as a result, they are always going to be rich, famous and beautiful. It's not just about how you feel, its about what you expect from yourself. If you wake up everyday expecting to look fabulous, and just take it as a given that you are perfect, then you are perfect in everyone else's eyes. It increases your self-confidence drastically.

Till now, I've always been saying that you are what you feel. But now, I say also that what you feel is what you expect from yourself. Know that your body is beautiful the way it is; don't question why you know it. If you are able to engrave that in your mind, you'll wake up feeling perfect everyday!

Eat, Pray, Love?

I recently saw the movie Eat Pray Love on the 16 hour flight back home to India (fun times), which follows the story of a Liz Gilberts as she travels the world to escape her humdrum life, and in the process rises above the petty, material things that bogged her down in the past. The movie instantly won me over just by having Julia Roberts in it. But as I actually got into the feel of what the story was about, I realized that we would all do well if he had a bit of Liz in us.

One of my favorite scenes in the movie was when Liz sits in a cafe in Italy with one of her friends, who is complaining about her weight (which is absolute crap, because she looks like a supermodel). Liz just shrugs at her worries and says, "If you think you're putting on weight, buy bigger jeans". If I could wake up everyday thinking that it was OK to be what I am, and accepting that there's nothing wrong with enjoying the simplicities of life like good food, family and God, then everyday would be a perfect day. :-)

Personally, I know how hard it is to find time to exercise, although we seem to have endless amount of time to binge on the most delicious food. The key to leading an EPL (Eat Pray Love) life, I think, is not just to balance diet and exercise, like most experts say, but also to achieve a mental balance. After all, there's no biological NEED to be size zero. Being size zero doesn't increase our chances of leading a better life, nor does it make us any more likely to make more friends (at least true ones). It only gives you a mask of superficial "perfection" that somehow seems to boost your confidence.

I've had many a day where I wake up, feel fat in the same clothes that I looked thin in the day before, and just gone back to bed feeling bloated and lousy. But I didn't even once stop to think that the way I looked really would not affect how my day would go.

So, I've started a new routine. Everyday when I wake up and look into the mirror, instead of wondering which pimples I should cover up and which ones weren't very noticeable, I look at my eyes, my hair and my smile, and I appreciate myself. I am beautiful, and so are you. No amount of weight, zits or size zero Hollywood models can EVER change that. :)

Welcome! =)

Hi and welcome to my blog, Love Your Imperfections! I'm starting this blog as a platform where I (and hopefully, you) will talk about the increasingly unhealthy way that women (mostly teenagers) view themselves and their bodies. I hope to help at least some people with viewing themselves more positively.

I'm only 19 years old, and I haven't seen much of the world. But one thing I see everyday is the growth of vanity. I'm not saying it's not important to me to look pretty and feel pretty. I'm saying that around me I see that girls from the ages of 15 to middle-aged women have a bad body image because of a few physical flaws. I know its easy to hate yourself and call yourself ugly when you get a zit the day you have an important meeting or a date with someone you've had a crush on. But something most people don't know is that our bodies are a direct reflection on our attitudes. If you think your body isn't perfect, then you'll probably notice only the bad things about your appearance that are virtually invisible to everyone else, like the tiny pimple that's ABOUT to grow on your forehead and how big your nose looks today. I've been there and I've had those days when everyone around me seems to be a supermodel compared to me. But you are what you feel! So be yourself and more importantly, LOVE yourself, because that's the only way others get to love the real you! =)

So to sum up, I'm going to be using this blog to talk about how I think we should view our bodies, and maybe post some articles about body image and a healthy lifestyle. =)