Mondays can be rough for many of us, and this doesn’t create the ideal environment for building a better body image. To help you turn that around, every Monday features a tip, activity, inspiring quote or some other tidbit to help boost your body image – and kick-start the week on a positive note.

Got a tip for improving body image? Email me at mtartakovsky at gmail dot com, and I’ll be happy to feature it. I’d love to hear from you!

I’ve been following the Reverb 10 prompts and, as soon as I read this one, I knew it’d be perfect for today’s body image post:

Sift through all the photos of you from the past year. Choose one that best captures you; either who you are, or who you strive to be. Find the shot of you that is worth a thousand words. Share the image, who shot it, where, and what it best reveals about you.

(Author: Tracey Clark)

I chose this image…

It was taken by my boyfriend, Brian, in September when we were visiting Chimney Rock in North Carolina. To my right is a little waterfall. To my left, the water cascades down a cliff.

This photo represents my fear.

At first, Brian had meandered to the waterfall. (Yes, he meandered; he made it look that easy.) I told him that in no way was I going. I’d take photos from the sidelines.

I was scared to walk the wet rocks to the waterfall. I was filled with what-ifs.

I feared that I’d slip and fall and crack my head. (Yes, these kinds of scenarios go through my head.)

But Brian assured me that I’d be OK.

After a lot of convincing, I went.

Instead of walking on the rocks, I basically crawled.

But I made it.

Wobbly and insecure, I made it.

I still felt nervous, but I also remember thinking, “Oh, this isn’t that big of a deal. I’m OK.”

I even felt a sense of peace and wonder, as I breathed in the crisp smell of water cascading down the mountain. As Brian and I smiled and posed for photos. As he hugged me and said he was happy I joined him.

That photo represents my past fear and the person I strive to be.

My past fears are a big pile. There’s the fear of food, of what others will think of me, of not being good enough, of not being liked, of not being thin, of gaining weight, of failing.

I don’t strive to be fearless, because that’s just not realistic. But I strive to be the type of person who feels fear but does things anyway.

I would, however, like to eventually extinguish certain fears, like the fear of weight gain and others’ opinions of me.

Since that picture, for instance, I’ve gained weight. And it’s been on my mind.

I try to ignore it, but it comes and goes. It doesn’t stop me from enjoying foods or nourishing my body or force me to work out for the purpose of losing weight.

But it’s in the back of my mind, and sometimes in the front, gnawing at me, from time to time.

And I look longingly at photos where I was thinner.

So, to me, the above photo represents what I hope to be: Not exactly fearless but working toward being good enough, beautiful enough and brave enough.

—

Give this prompt a try. Look through this year’s photos and find the ones that speak to you most. Narrow it down to a photo that captures you or your goals for 2011.

You might be surprised at what you find.

What photo best captures who you are or who you strive to be? What photo captures your personality, your beauty, your spirit?

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    Last reviewed: 27 Dec 2010