Dear Younger Me, The World is Bigger Than You.

You are shrinking your world by giving things you can’t control real estate in your mind

At some point in your life, you have likely stood in the mirror and been dissatisfied by the way you look. Body image issues are relatable for just about all of us, but we weren't born to care THAT much about how we look.

We give so much of our thought and our attention to our bodies until eventually, our world becomes our insecurities. You are no longer thinking about how creative you are, how smart you are, how impactful you could be, and how you could serve those around you because all of your thoughts are centered around your physique.

What we look at and linger on, our world eventually becomes.

It's not *just* body image that we do this with, it’s anything we give real estate in our minds to. Maybe all of your focus is on the job you wish you had, the community you wish you had, or the significant other you wish you had. 80% of your thoughts are devoted to what you don't have rather than what you do have.

When you focus on what you DO have, rather than what you DON'T have you become more grateful. You start seeing the opportunity to apply for a job, create a community, and ask a friend to grab a coffee. Your world becomes bigger because you chose what to give your attention to.

There are so many people walking around spiraling in the small worlds they’ve created and I used to be one of them. I catch myself doing it still. My world used to be about the way I looked, then it turned into what people thought about me, now I find myself focusing so much on my career that I often neglect who I am outside of that.

Dear younger me -- The world is much bigger than you.

You are much bigger than what you are letting take over your mind. You are not only the way you look, you are not only your career, you are not only your relationship status. You are so much more. Your worldview will become much larger when you start exploring new things and letting go of those thoughts you’ve been letting consume you.