When we begin to view ourselves, what are our initial thoughts? For many, the first thoughts about ourselves may be negative. Often, we point out the flaws that we believe we have, often related to our personalities, identities, and usually due to our physical appearances.

When we see these flaws, do we ask ourselves why we view ourselves with these flaws? These flaws have been established may be due to the standards and expectations that society has created for us. In the 21^st century, it seems a certain beauty standard is eminent because of the availability of things like social media. But do we consider the effects that certain things may have for us on a long-term basis?

One issue that I have been facing for a few years has been related to my physical appearance. After my junior year of high school, I may have been seen as someone who isn't skinny and faces issues like acne. Upon entering college, I gained a significant amount of weight, which I realized had increased because of the things that I was being told by those around me.

Despite being able to identify this issue, I tried numerous times to let the unhealthy habits go, and when I did, I never saw a change in the scale. So, what happened? I began feeling that this issue was something that I would never be able to change. However, if it weren't for an injury that I faced with the sport I was involved with, I would have never realized that I had medical issues that needed to be addressed in yet another manner. This address took me a long time to take action against because I was not and still being not adequately informed about it. But it wasn't until I decided to make changes that I was motivated to fix the flaw I saw in myself.

Although I have a long road yet ahead of me in weight loss, I find that I have a will that will allow me to see myself in a light that will let me correct the medical problems that have amplified because of this weight gain. Yes, I may have seen my weight as a problem because the people around me saw it as a flaw that forced me to be out of place. But, if I didn't understand that these people would tell me that this defect existed was harmful to me at the end of the day, I may have never tried and failed at correcting this for myself.

Although my most recent attempt has allowed me to see a slow shift in my weight loss gradually. I believe that despite there only being a small change, I find that with time I will be able to learn more about my body, my pre-existing medical conditions, and newly developed ones and heal my body altogether. Thus, if I had to give someone suggestions on how to ensure they make gradual and healthy process, I would suggest the following:

1) Visit your doctor to see if there are some precautions you have to take to make improvements in your lifestyle.

2) Make a realistic goal for yourself.

3) Speak to a nutritionist to see what you have been doing and needed to do

4) Be prepared to fail. Yes, fail. Because there will be times, you may not be able to stick to the plan you prepared. But if you have a bad meal or bad day within your goals keep going. This is to advise I give myself on a regular basis because I am retrying to lose weight after a long time of avoiding the unhealthy reality I was living with.

5) Reward yourself at benchmarks. This will motivate you to keep going.

So to anyone discouraged by the flaws you have, keep in mind, they exist only to teach you lessons about yourself.