It may come as a shock to you, but your fitness and health goals can be related to something other than your physical appearance. Crazy, right? It is a tough concept to grasp, even for those of us who make it our mission to encourage the importance of how you feel over how you look. Instagram is based almost completely on the visual image we post, so it is no wonder we are all worried about how we look.

Although there is a strong and powerful movement centered around being yourself, self-acceptance and being supportive of a variety of body types, there is still a whole lot of imaging and marketing out there making us think that thinner and smaller is better. A lot of people fall guilty to still trying to get the best angle and look smaller in photos even when we know better than to believe all of the imaging we see online.

As leaders in fitness, we have to be mindful regarding the content we put out into the real world and online. Staying true to yourself and your brand is number one. However, if we want to perpetuate a positive and inclusive fitness environment, we have to remember that as much as our social media posts can fulfill our own egos, it could have a drastically different effect on those consuming the content.

As consumers double-tapping and liking images online, we also need to be aware of our actions. When we comment solely on one’s physical appearance and like posts where bodies are sexualized and thinness is even inadvertently suggested, we are shaping the future of the online, and more specifically the fitness, world.

Physical appearance goals are totally fine to have, but due to the sexualization of the fitness industry and the need to show more skin, we somehow end up determining our self-worth based on the way we look. Social media is about the visuals so when we get likes based on the image we post and comments regarding the way we look, our self-confidence is influenced in a negative way.

There are so many other things to consider when setting goals besides losing weight, getting smaller, and looking a certain way. To be honest with you, when you start to focus on those other things you usually feel better, leading you to feel more confident regarding the way you look too!

Next time you decide to set intentional health and fitness goals for yourself, consider some other factors to base your goals around:

nutrition
sleep
energy levels
performance-based goals (example: hold a plank for 1 minute)
stress management
mental health

We indeed should feel confident about the way we look, but when we work on the inside stuff first, we are able to appreciate the outside stuff from a much more loving place.

Yours in self-discovery,

Rachel

Setting goals that go beyond how we look