Billions of dollars are spent every year, so that when we look at ourselves in the mirror we see flaws in need of fixing. All this is designed to make us feel insufficient so that we would purchase more and more products that promise to make our outwards appearance socially acceptable. It is no use pretending that advertising doesn’t effect me on a subconscious level. Since I don’t live in a cave in the wildness with no access to an electronic device of any kind, I must confess, I am under the influence. I have tried, hard, really really hard, to inoculate myself from the damaging affects of overexposure to mass media. And yet, I noticed a negative pattern inside of my head each time I looked at myself in the mirror or in a picture. I would immediately count all the things I disliked about my body. Shape of this part. Size of that. I don’t need to be specific here. You probably know the drill. One year ago, I made the decision to disrupt this pattern. I wrote a list of 25 things I love about my body. Then each time I looked at my own reflection, I would think of one, two or three things from this list. In place of thinking of the things I don’t like, I thought of the things that I do like. In the beginning, this was work. After a while it became a habit. These days it is as natural to me as breathing. The point of “things I love about my body” list is to be as superficial as possible. The more superficial the better. While it would be completely true for me to state: I love my body because it gave birth to three beautiful babies. I am eternally grateful for the good health that I enjoy. I appreciate my legs because they carry me with ease from one place to another. None of these are on my list. They are simply too deep. Too substantial. I wanted 25 items. Physical. Superficial. That I genuinely think look good. Here is my list:

25 reasons I love my body

1. Eyebrows
2. Lashes
3. Lips
4. Hair color
5. The way I look in my favorite dress
6. Nose
7. Hands
8. Wrists
9. Eye Color
10. Eye Shape
11. Fingers
12. Breasts
13. The way I dance
14. Skin
15. Ear lopes
16. Shoulders
17. Ankles
18. My feet in high heel shoes
19. Posture
20. Facial expressions
21. Body language
22. Sitting cross legged
23. Nails
24. The sound I make when snapping my fingers
25. Laugh

Today I feel amazing. I am a mega watt superstar on a galactic scale. I feel better about myself than I ever felt in my life. Is it because I look better than I did when I was in my early twenties? … off course not. I realize objectively that I look worse. It’s the manner of my looking that has changed. The way I regard myself. I possess self confidence that would shatter reinforced concrete. Billions of dollars spent on advertising designed to make me feel otherwise bounce off me like a rubber ball. I wish I could take this feeling, ground it up into powder and sprinkle it in the air. I wish I had this realization long time ago. What took me so long to get to this place?

It is a simple tool. Costs nothing to implement. Totally free. Does require a tiny bit of effort and intention. I encourage you to give it a try. Sit down with a piece of paper and a pen. Write down 25 reasons you love your body. You can keep that list private or share it in the comment section below. Don’t overthink it. Just write. Then each time you look at your own reflection, zero in on two or three items in the list. I hope the results are as radical for you as they were for me.