Did we want to be skinny like the people we saw on Instagram? Yes. Did we exercise in an attempt to have the perfect bodies? Yup. Do we still love to work up a sweat and exercise? Sometimes. Will we ever look like those Instagrammers who have the perfectly toned legs and arms? Um…probably not…we love junk food.

We have always struggled in life comparing ourselves to others and even each other! Who doesn’t compare themselves to others? We do it way more than we would like. The worst thing is comparing ourselves to each other. There is always the skinny twin, the prettier twin, the more athletic twin, the better-dressed twin, the twin that sings better (wait…we will admit…we are both terrible at this), etc.  Who sees this more than anyone? We do! Why though?!

Why do we compare ourselves to others on a daily basis? Why can’t we just be happy with who we are? Why can’t we trust our husbands when they tell us we are beautiful? A huge part of this is because we are exposed to social media accounts of what we feel is a “perfect” person.  Is it a reality? No! Who would ever post a bad picture of themselves? We dare you! We are exposed to the best images that people have on their camera roll.  We need to remember that it’s not always reality.  It probably took 20-30 attempts (and a filter) to get that perfect selfie.  Ever been there? We have!

Instead, let’s remember that everyone, at some point, will compare themselves to someone or some idea.  Even that girl who has Carrie Underwood’s legs or the girl who has the voice of Rihanna and even that mom whose kids actually eat veggies at every meal are comparing themselves and convincing themselves that they are not perfect.  Nobody is perfect.  But what if we encouraged each other and helped each other see the positives and not dwell on the negatives in ourselves. Better yet, help each other see that the things we think are negatives, aren’t really that bad after all.

Do you want ice cream? EAT. IT.  Are you not in the mood to put on make-up today? Don’t! Do you want to post that picture of your six-pack (abs of course)? Do it!

This has been such a struggle for us day to day.  Do we still, to this day, compare ourselves to others? Yes! It’s nearly impossible in this world we live in not to compare.  However, we are each other’s accountability partners and try to call each other out on it right away. This has been a lifesaver!

We challenge you to do two things right NOW.

1) Write down 3 qualities that you love about yourself. Even though believe us 3 isn’t enough. We don’t mean just physical attributes. Think outside of the box.

2) Write down 3 people in your life you are proud of and why.

Moving forward, embrace yourself by focusing on these 3 things (in addition to the many more) that make you amazing! Also, find a way to empower those individuals you are proud of. Take some time out of your day and tell them why they rock and why you are empowered by them!!

Check back next week for our Top 3 answers!!

It is so important that we learn to embrace ourselves for who we are.  It is so difficult for people to do especially with social media working against us (but not always….and let’s make this change).  We can do this if we work together.  Empowering others gives them a boost while giving us a better opportunity to learn from them and love who they are.  #embraceyourselfempowerothers

Xoxo, 

 

Erin and Emily