How to Stop Comparing and Start Living!

Photo by: Carol Dibert

I'm aiming for one "real life feels" post a week because I want to keep posts fun and light on the blog but also authentic. Life isn't always super and we shouldn't feel like we have to pretend they are.

What's on my mind these days is comparing. When we compare ourselves to others and make judgements based on those comparisons, we are just generating a whole lot of negativity we don't need. It's actually damaging to our self worth, to our confidence and to our hearts.

I'm not claiming that I don't do it - I struggle with this very topic every single day. I've spent hours in the closet crying because my outfits don't look like I thought they would. I've turned down invitations to fun events because I felt like I wasn't stylish enough or cool enough to go. Not wanting to go to the beach because of what I might look like to someone else in my bathing suit. I've even avoided posting pictures of myself wearing outfit ideas on my very own blog because I don't look like the other bloggers out there and I am afraid. What a colossal waste of time!

I was in Nordstrom the other day and I really wanted this mustardy gold pleated velvet midi skirt. When I got to the checkout, I decided to not buy the skirt. Here's what was going through my mind:

• I'd probably have to tuck a shirt into this and would that show a roll?
• I'd look so thick around the middle in an elastic waistband, pleats and a tucked shirt
• I would look like a try-hard styling this skirt
• My side profile would be super unflattering

I told the very young salesperson I didn't think I could pull it off. You know what she said? "Life is too short to not wear what you want to wear whenever you want to wear it". She was right and I thought about her words all day long. The skirt is now in my online Nordstrom shopping bag and I'm going to buy it. Not only am I going to buy it, I'm also going to issue myself a personal challenge to post a picture of me wearing it proudly on this blog in an upcoming post.

There is a movement afoot people - a body positive movement and I like it a lot. We need to strip away all these notions of what we should look like, feel like, act like and refocus our energy into being kind and true to ourselves and building each other up.

You may have seen this already but there are two very talented San Francisco bloggers I follow who are getting a lot of body positivity notoriety right now. Robbie Tripp wrote this Instagram post about his beautiful wife Sarah Tripp (aka sassyredlipstick) and it's gone viral for all the right reasons. Check the post out if you have a chance and I encourage you to follow this power couple because they are going to change the world!