Saved By the Bell, Beliefs, and Body Image

When I was growing up, school wasn't really my thing.

The IDEA of school? Now that I was very into.

I loved pretending that I was a part of the Saved By The Bell gang with my locker + note passing in between classes…

Tossing my backpack on when the bell chimed & gossiping with friends at lunch as if I were in a movie montage (compassionately cringing as I write this BTW).

Actual schoolwork on the other hand never came as easily.

My test anxiety was crippling & stirred up all kinds of primal fear that felt deeply confusing.

Unconscious brain: “how can I survive in the world if I don't pass this test??”

Conscious solution: “get really good at everything else.”

I may have believed that I wasn't born naturally book smart, but something clicked with looks & personality…things I believed that I could control.

So I decided to hide behind my body. To make her as small & beautiful & non-offensive as possible.

And it seemed to work based on all of the praise & validation I received! So I took that reinforcement and kept on creating an identity that felt safe.

I learned to sweet talk.

And cry my way out of things.

I became great at performing, perfecting, and pleasing.

I was the “good girl” so people didn't have a choice but to pass me in class or give me opportunities.

From the outside, it looked pretty aspirational- like I had it all together.

The “success” came but with some pretty big price tags: eating disorders, never feeling enough, insecurity, anxiety, depression, loneliness, indecision…the opposite of what I wanted people to think.

It's taken what feels like a lifetime to overcome these struggles, but today I know my work when things get rocky- whether it's body insecurity, people pleasing, or something else.

Today in tough moments, I call in my NEW belief:

“I'm safe and worthy of showing up in this world because I'm ME.”

Not what someone else wants me to be. Or who I think I “should” be.

Feeling at peace in my body has meant healing the belief that my worth & survival is attached to my appearance.

Something that was never sold to me on a magazine cover (wouldn't that be cool though???).

It's been a complex, messy, & WILDLY FREEING + LIBERATING journey that is creating the “success” I'd always craved…moving beyond surviving, to authentically (imperfectly!) THRIVING.

If there's a belief or former identity blocking the person that you know in your bones you're meant to become, I see you! This is your permission to release what is no longer serving you and step INTO your truest self.

FIST PUMP + BIG HUG!

P.S. Reprogramming beliefs is ESSENTIAL to upgrading your relationship with food, body, & yourself. If you're ready to end the mind drama and live a happier + more authentic life, book a breakthrough call with me to talk about how we can make that happen through 1:1 coaching.