Being Truly Healthy...Something Social Media Can't Give You

How would we even define the word “healthy” anymore? Whether you are a girl or a guy, an athlete or not, our society makes it almost impossible to live up to what social media portrays “healthy” to be. The pressure to look a certain way, and portray ourselves a certain way is at an all-time high. I would be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy the occasional filter every now and then, but apps to draw abs and contour our bodies to look a certain way? I mean come on?! I will tell you this much, no app or filter will ever give you the confidence you need to truly be happy with yourself. I say this because, being “healthy” has become a mental game. We are constantly battling between our virtual reality and our actual reality. Social Media should not set the expectation of your health and happiness, because there is so much more that goes into being “healthy” than how you look in a picture posed in front of your mirror.

A week ago, I asked a group of people, “What would you define healthy as?”. Not once did I receive an answer related to being physically fit. The most common answer was revolved around being mentally and emotionally stable. The most important lesson I have learned through my years of training to be an athlete was that it didn’t matter if I was the smallest, most lean, strongest, I had ever been. If I wasn’t stable mentally and emotionally, I would never truly be happy with myself. Taking care of ourselves mentally is something that social media doesn’t talk about. I am at my lowest when my emotional and mental state is weak. I am at my happiest when I’ve taken the time to focus on being strong mentally and emotionally. Have you ever thought of it this way? Your mind can train yourself to see certain things? If you are constantly talking down to yourself in your head, you are going to look In the mirror and see those things. If you are being positive, you will radiate that. I used o let my physical appearance play a huge role in how I felt mentally and emotionally. The older I have got the wiser I have become. Now I know that my thoughts, whether positive or negative, have a huge impact on how I see myself. Your mind is a powerful thing, and mental and emotional health should be first on the list. Make sure you are surrounding yourself with an environment that is realistic and beneficial to those things. The old saying goes “If you look good, you feel good”. I am starting to believe quite the opposite. “If you feel good, you look good”. It is important for more of the world, especially our younger generations to know that most of what we see on online isn’t realistic, and that necessarily isn’t always the most attractive. People want real life, people want to read and look and talk about things they can relate to. People need to know that in order to reach a level of true happiness that is worth posting about, there is a certain amount of time you have to dedicate to loving who you are mentally and emotionally.

Bottom line is, we can’t base being “healthy” on what we see online. We are all different and being healthy is different for everyone. One’s happiness with their physique could be another’s happiness with their career. If there is one thing I have learned it is that people are attracted to DIFFERENT. People are attracted to those who own who they are and are confident within their own skin because it is so rare. Most importantly, being different and rare goes far beyond how physically attractive you are. What kind of vibes are you putting off? Are you sharing a contagious energy? Are you spreading love and kindness? This sounds cheesy, but yet these are the types of things that attract people the most. It is important that we know there are so many beautiful ways to be healthy and every stage of that should be celebrated. Celebrate your growth, celebrate your individuality, and the next time you find yourself down about a post you compared yourself too online…remember this: No filter, or amount of likes and followers will bring you the self-love you are searching for when scrolling your feed.