Good evening people,
Who's up for a bit of reading tonight?
This time I wanted to come up with something a bit different and take advantage of social media to address self-care/love/confidence (basically everything I prone) from different perspectives by linking topics I value a lot.
I've been mulling it for a while. The objective of this series of articles (yaaas I'll write several ones) is obviously to spread good vibes but more to inspire you and help you go through your own self-love/care journey. I want to show you the "behind the scene".We tend to idealize some people from our unique perspective, to think they have a perfect life, a perfect mindset, you name it!
So today's superstar is @Josephinelivin. At the age of 22, she has already been through a lot making her stronger than ever and real support for so many people. She is the perfect example to show you that we can always take something away from our life experiences.
Interview:
- Who is really Josephinelivin?
"I'd say, I guess, that I'm a happy person and really compassionate. I do try to spread good energy everywhere I go. I' 'm constantly chasing my goals as well, I'm definitely a goal getter!"
- How did your self-love journey start?
" My self-love journey started 2-3 years ago, I suffered very badly from stress, anxiety & depression. I knew that something had to change.
I was a very shy kid and had very low self-esteem, I kept thinking I wasn't worthy enough.
I grew up in a great family. My mum was a rock, and I had great relationships with all my family.
I was doing ok at school, but the kids were pretty mean they enjoyed laughing at me especially at my physical appearances."
- Why did you decide to launch a self-love Instagram account?
"I decided to launch a self-love Instagram account when I finally started to feel better because I needed to spread some of the things I learned during my own personal development journey and show the reality behind the perfect pictures I used to post on the account I had before. It was a personal one. I remember it took me up to 3 hours to take the perfect selfie after which I cried about. I had like a crying break because I was chasing these unrealistic perfect pictures.
So, I decided to take a break from social media for 1/2 year. It was much needed, and it made me appreciate small things, helped me know myself a bit better because I didn't have to be anything for anyone online. I only had to be present in real life. But I always wanted to get back on Instagram because I felt so much better and I knew I needed to share some of the things I learned.
I started the account as a fitness account called josephine&fit, but quickly it turned out to be a self-love reality account because I realized that I was so much more passionate about talking about this topic. Also, I remember posting my first Insta vs reality pictures and I got lots of positive feedbacks. I even got messages from young girls as well saying that just seeing those posts help them change their mind about their own body. That made me feel an even bigger desire to help and spread the message that not everything you see online is real life."
- On your Instagram account you post lots of Insta vs reality photos of yourself, are you truly confident with your body?
" So I am. I love my body, I respect and accept my body exactly as it is. I have a really amazing relationship with it.
When I post on social media, however, only posting a relaxed pose still triggers something in me. I think society standards are so ingrained that I need to look a certain way to be good enough, and I don't think that these thoughts won't change 100% until society will change. Even more, I guess, when all you ever see is all those perfect pictures on Instagram that becomes the standards, the expectations. Even if I truly love my body from the angles I probably won't ever be 100% comfortable with posting relaxed and unposed versions until society will.
- What's your self-love best practice/routine?
"My best self-love practice or my best self-love routine at the moment is my morning routine, which no matter how I feel when I wake up definitely helps me feel amazing and confident. So, I wake up, make my bed, write in my journal, open my blinds, dance to my favorite song, and talk to myself in front of the mirror. I say kind and uplifting things like empowering mantra, I say like "I'm amazing, I can do anything, etc, etc". Then I work out for 5 min and then I take a nice cold shower. It's definitely the best thing I can do for myself.
I also believe that this self-love personal development journey we're in is a long-life process. We'll constantly learn new things about the world or about ourselves and that's a thing I love."
- A message to leave?
"A really great piece of advice is to not let your brain control you. Be the one who decides the thoughts you're thinking. You'll never be able to control the first thought, but you'll be always able to control the second one. You can actually create your own reality, and it starts with your mind. Start by saying that you want to be your reality and don't be too hard on yourself it's a process. You can't go from self-hate to self-love from one day to another. There's an in-between. Start by accepting yourself and think about everything your body does for you."
- One last question, would you recommend some people to follow in our self-love journey?
"Yes, of course. I personally love @mikzazon & @danaemercer.
I also recommend you to read "The subtle art of not giving a fuck". It's definitely a book that helped me not overthink about people's opinions and basically to not give a fuck anymore.
Also, you should watch "The secret that you dare to dream" on Netlfix."
I'd like to thank Josephine for her time and her transparency. It was a real pleasure to have her on #livemyway. I hope you guys enjoyed the article. Feel free to let me know.
Bise,
Math
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