Instagram VS reality...The truth behind the lens

In a world where we are surrounded by perfectly air brushed images and filters which alter the way we look, it can often result in people feeling insecure and feel they don't fit the beauty standard (whatever that is) which is plastered all over the internet. I won't sit here and be a hypocrite and say I don't ever use filters or my professional photos haven't been air-brushed to give me that smooth glowing skin which we all desperately want. The whole purpose of me writing this article is to remind you that the perfect images which you see on a day to day basis, often don't reflect what is actually behind the lens and it isn't reality for the majority of men and women. This can often lead to people comparing themselves to what they see and believe is classed as "normal" when it comes to body shapes, skin and how we actually live our lives. I think it's important for all of us to understand that what we see in the Instagram world should by no means be used in comparison to what we experience and see in our own world and day to day lives.

I do believe that it's important to put the message out there that we all should embrace and love our flaws and learn to accept that we are all unique and beautiful in our way. This can be easier said than done and I for one have had to learn over the years how to accept that my body is the way that it is and not to compare what my body looks like to what I see on the internet. I think that for most of us, we have all had to battle and learn how to cope with insecurities that we may have, regardless of how big or small they are. It is just very unfortunate that social media can often highlight these feelings and insecurities that we are dealing with. Learning to accept and embrace what we have is a continuous journey which will certainly have it's ups and downs. But what's important is that we don't lose sight of who we are and allow anything to prevent us from achieving what we want in life. We all have something special to offer regardless of how we look.

We may find it easy to pick apart what it is we don't like when we study and look at our bodies and can focus only our flaws and imperfections. The reality is though, we all have them and it is normal! We tend to focus so much on what is happening on the exterior and completely forget and even neglect the importance of other aspects of our health. Mental health being one of them because of the heavy influence social media can have on the way we think and feel. The fact is, our bodies will continue to change as we go through life and we should never beat ourselves up because of those changes, some of which may be completely out of our control. What we can control is our thoughts and how much we expose ourselves to the countless images which are on our social media feeds everyday reminding us of how we "should look" or what we should strive for. If you have a particular body goal to work towards, that's great! Working hard to gain the body you want can massively help build confidence and self-esteem and I am all for that. However, achieving the "perfect body" is only a by-product and it may not necessarily be the right path to take in order to achieve happiness. I think what's more important, is that instead of focusing so much on how our bodies look as a result, we should really be motivated by the benefits to our health and what we can do to gain a healthier and happier life.