I’ve always preferred the 1-pack myself
These are clearly not me, and I may not be the world’s foremost authority on this topic. My youngest son agrees with unfortunate consistency every time he tells me how much he loves my pudge. Better than hating it, I suppose!
Either way, I can’t and shouldn’t measure this summer specimen of mine in terms of slim golden-brownness. Especially when I’m more of a photon-fearing baking-soda white. Life has taught me some tidbits on thinking of my beach bod in far more helpful ways, and here they are…
1. Wear a shirt
In a society where everyone is pressured and trying to optimize how they look with less clothes on, it’s refreshing, free, and simple to remember that you’d worry about that a lot less with more clothes on. Ladies, trust me, you’re just as attractive in the ways you want to be in more clothes than barely more than none. And any guy who thinks you need the latter to make you sufficiently attractive is not someone you want anywhere near you – especially at the beach. Dudes, trust me, any woman you want around you will appreciate your shirted self being genuinely interested in who she is, rather than focusing on flexing each of your 6 abs at her.
And if all else fails and you’re not the favored physique – shirts or skins? Well, you’ve still made others feel better about themselves while reducing your chances of premature wrinkles, sunburn, and skin cancer. Think of it as charity now, with you getting the last laugh later!
2. Optimize your body for what it should do, not how it should look
Despite the countless hours and dollars humans put into tanned muscle-bound and skinny-toned bodies, I have virtually never seen such qualities benefit me in any way that was even remotely worth the cost (Click to tweet). And if anything, they detract from our ability to benefit others. Those who focus their finite time, resources, and bodies on the greater good seem to find wonderful spouses, friends, and fulfillment as (and often more) frequently than those who seek such things through their appearance.
Eating well and exercising are certainly beneficial (medically, a moderate balanced diet and 45 minutes of exercise 3 times/week is all a person typically needs to maintain a healthy body). But these habits are most important for better doing the fulfilling and fruitful good you were created to do, not making you a slave to the mirror.
3. Repeatedly remind yourself who you really are
At the root of our predilection for physical perfection are millions of messages we’ve received from ads, others, and ourselves that tell us we need to look better, either to be worth enough or to be comparable enough to others. Even our best efforts to reject these voices have difficulty overwhelming such ubiquitous influence. But not if we truly believe the only concept regarding self-image that matters: Only one person knows everything about you and what you are subsequently worth. Not a marketing team or the people it employs, not strangers or friends communicating in myriad ways that you’re above or below average, and not even your own conflicting opinions that change as often as your circumstances. Only God knows everything that went into you and everything about you; therefore, only he can assign your worth (Click to tweet). The greatest news is not just that he’s done so, but that he’s gone ahead and paid that price for you! God created you for perfect eternal community with him – starting here and complete in heaven. And he wants you to be able to enjoy that so much that he paid the life of his son Jesus to make heaven possible. The only one who knows what you’re worth has told you how much and then proven it with payment.
But you need to accept God’s truth of Jesus – and remind yourself at many times and in many ways – to escape the frequent false voices telling you otherwise. When I was younger, every day I read a list of biblical statements affirming the great worth God gives me, and it slowly but surely made the truth present in my mind when I needed it most. Today my beach bod literally pales in comparison to others’. But as long as it’s being who God made me to be and doing what God made me to do, I now know that it’s happier and healthier than their bods may ever be.
4. Beach bod vicariously through your kids
Because our average tan is still darker than most others. 🙂
He’s gettin’ more pectoralic every day!
To look deeper into who God has made each of us and why, check out Healing Hereafter, my free e-book series! Instantly download whatever topic interests you here.
