For as long as I can remember, I have had a struggle with my body image. From insecurities in my earlier years to dissatisfaction later on. I know now that there was no reason to have those thoughts then and will probably know in a few years that there is no reason to have them now….
I know that those who love me (or at least like me) doesn’t do so because of how I look or how much I weight, but that there are totally other factors in play when it comes to that. On a cognitive level, I understand that the problems I have with me, are mine. On an emotional level, it is a bit harder to understand and even harder to internalize.
It is hard to be satisfied with what we have and easy to find things we want to change. Since I stopped buying clothes almost 4 months ago, I suddenly realized how many feelings, hopes and circumstances I was used to put on purchasing things like clothes. A dress for a certain event or new shoes for a meeting in order for it to be successful. Or thoughts like, if lose 5 kg, everything will be better.
The advertisers of the world also know this and use it very effectively to their benefit and to their profit. They are more than happy to have us all spend lots of money and all sorts of things while selling us the dream that we are so longing for of a happier, easier and better looking life. Deep inside, the majority of us know that it is not really going to work, but still play along by continuing to buy lots of stuff we don’t really need.
Why? My guess is that it is just easier that way. Making a real change for the long run is really hard. It is an internal change that takes lots of time and hard work. The solution to pay our way to that goal seems both easier and faster. So we buy something and hope for the best, even when we know that it is more often than not, like putting a band aid on a broken leg.
So should we all stop to buy? Not necessarily. Buying can in the right circumstances be both fun and giving, but maybe next time that I or you stand before that next purchase, we should stop for a second to think why it is we are buying it. And for me, I am hoping that this time of not buying, will maybe be the time that I am able to make that change that comes from within and has nothing to do with either how I look or what I wear.
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