This morning I sat here reading posts about eating disorders. Stories that I had written, and posts that other bloggers have written. There is a common thread in all these stories about eating disorders. Well…there are several, but this one stands out:
I received so many comments on how good I looked, that I decided to continue losing weight.
As I read this line over and over again in countless stories, I was reminded of the book “The Four Agreements” by Don Miguel Ruiz. The second agreement is “Don’t Take Anything Personally”:
Nothing other people do is because of you. It is because of themselves. All people live in their own dream, in their own mind; they are in a completely different world from the one we live in. When we take something personally, we make the assumption that they know what is in our world, and we try to impose our world on their world.
In this chapter the author discusses not even taking ‘positive’ comments personally. And this is what truly resonated with me today. I’ve been up and down in my fitness and nutrition in the last couple years. I’ve held a few (so called extra) pounds, and down a few. I’ve made a conscious effort not to take comments such as “wow, you look great, you look like you’ve lost weight” personally. That’s their world, not mine.
In my world I do my best not to take personally what others say about my weight. I know how I look, I know the importance I place on how I look, I know how I feel about how I look and no one else truly knows that.
When you choose to take something personally and let it get into your body, you are only feeding yourself with poison.
But if you do not take it personally, you are immune to the middle of hell.
Keeping you happy & healthy inside & out,
XXOO
Kat
