Every Monday features a tip, activity, inspiring quote or some other tidbit that helps boost your body image, whether directly or indirectly and hopefully kick-starts the week on a positive note!

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

Recently, I read a great quote from Albert Einstein in Tina Seeling’s book InGenius: A Crash Course on Creativity:“If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on the solution, I would spend the first fifty-five minutes determining the proper question to ask, for once I know the proper question, I could solve the problem in less than five minutes.”

In other words, questions are key. Asking the right questions helps us identify the best solutions. Asking the right questions helps us challenge ourselves and make powerful changes.

In other words, the questions you ask yourself can help you boost your body image, sharpen your self-care practices and best respond to your needs.

Here’s a list of 23 questions to help you check in with yourself and build a more positive body image.

(Cheryl Richardsonincludes a helpful list of self-care questions in her bookThe Art of Extreme Self-Care: Transform Your Life One Month at a Time. Below, a few of the questions are based on her list.)

  1. If my body could talk right now, what would it say?
  2. What do I need right now?
  3. What’s one way I can celebrate my body every day?
  4. What’s something that makes me feel worse about my body? (e.g., women’s magazines, diet books, keeping a scale at home.)
  5. What people make me feel bad about my body and myself? Why?
  6. What people make me feel better about my body and myself? Why?
  7. What helps me to feel comfortable in my own skin?
  8. What doesn’t?
  9. What do I need to feel nourished, energized and strong?
  10. What helps me deal with stress in a healthy way?
  11. What has my body helped me do in the last few days?
  12. What helps me express my emotions effectively?
  13. What are the bare essentials I need to feel good?
  14. What can I eliminate from my life that doesn’t make me feel good?
  15. What are my favorite ways to move my body?
  16. What brings me joy?
  17. What does a positive body image mean to me?
  18. What does it look like?
  19. What does self-love mean to me?
  20. What does it look like?
  21. How can I make my home a self-care sanctuary?
  22. What can I give myself permission for today?
  23. If I don’t have much time to tend to myself today, what can I do in 15 minutes to nourish myself?

If you’d like, write down the questions that resonate with you, and ask them on a daily or weekly basis. Check in with yourself. See what you need. See what feels energizing and wonderful. See what’s not serving you anymore. See what makes you feel strong and empowered. See what brings you joy.

What other questions can you ask yourself to boost your body image?