if you can’t love yourself for you, love yourself for those who look up to you

because you never know whose role model you are.

Nancy Chen
Aug 25, 2017 · 2 min read

Whether it’s conscious or subconscious, we all have role models. We all have people we look up to, people we emulate, people we aspire to be like. It could be your mother, your sister, your best friend, your teacher, your fitness instructor, your coach…anyone.

And we tend to become more like the people we spend most of our time with. We take on their habits, behaviors, ways of thinking — regardless of whether that’s positive or negative.

“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”
— Jim Rohn

Most people have that one friend who’s pretty and smart and successful and can’t stop talking about how she needs to lose weight/get toned/eat cleaner etc. And the sad thing is, she can’t see that she’s the girl we all want to be when we want to lose weight/get toned/eat cleaner, etc. It’s a vicious circle, because I’m sure that for some people, we’re that one friend.

So I’m telling you now — the next time you find yourself caught up in that chatter of “Ohmigosh I need to lose xx lbs” or “I can’t believe I ate that ice cream” or “I’m going on a juice cleanse because I need to detox” or “I deserve this brunch after working out,” reevaluate yourself.

Step back.

Even if you’re finding it hard to love and/or accept yourself (because those go hand in hand, but aren’t necessarily synonymous), don’t pick yourself apart in public.

It’s harder than you think. My friends Holly and Hannah have a podcast that’s recently uncovered how the diet mentality is pervasive throughout our society, and it’s scary to see the extent of it.

Don’t become part of it.

Because even if you don’t love yourself for you, love yourself for those who look up to you. Love yourself for the little sisters of the world, for the best friends of the world, for the students of the world, for the cousins of the world… for everyone you meet and touch and interact with.

We affect others more than we know.

Positivity influences positivity. Negativity breeds negativity.

Which influence do you want to be?

My thought of the day: You are where you are supposed to be now. Don’t fight your body. Accept it. If you want to change it, you can. But it starts with being here, being now, and embracing it first.

Follow me on Medium for weekly posts every Friday on body image, life, productivity, and more. You can follow my journey via my personal Insta @nancylinchen or food/health Insta @approachingpaleo.

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Nancy Chen

Written by

wellness blogger | psych/human behavior nerd | email marketing @perfectketo | I get weirdly enthusiastic about productivity ideas www.nourishbynancy.com

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