"To all the girls that think you’re ugly because you’re not a size 0, you’re the beautiful one. It’s society who’s ugly" ― Marilyn Monroe

A rainbow typically refers to a meteorological phenomenon that is a spectrum of light appearing in the sky when the sun shines onto rain droplets in the atmosphere. It consists of various colours, often arranged in a specific order: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet (ROYGBIV).

If you're asking about "rainbow" in the context of measuring body sizes, it's a term used in fashion or clothing industries to describe a range of sizes or a diverse set of options. For example, a brand might offer a "rainbow" of sizes to indicate inclusivity and cater to various body types.

Today when I was sitting with the Owner of a well-known brand's learned about a phrase for plus-size apparel. This way, anyone who is plus-size won't feel body shamed when they go shopping and are labelled huge or any other term that offends them. I applaud companies that consider women of these sizes and help them develop a positive body image.

Given the relentless bombardment of photoshopped perfection in our world, it should come as no surprise that a large number of people especially women feel tremendous pressure to meet rigid beauty standards. This invasive culture of body shaming has its roots in this concern with appearances. However, it's past time for us to acknowledge how critically important it is to redefine these norms and build a culture that is more welcoming and inclusive. 

The effects of body shaming on people's mental and self-esteem are severe. In particular, women are frequently hooked in a self-criticism vicious cycle that is fed by cultural expectations. Constantly examining their body might cause eating disorders, anxiety, and sadness. It's a brutal fact of life that needs our attention and help.

Fortunately, there is a growing movement that opposes these damaging beauty standards and encourages body positivity. It will take a team effort to redefine beauty standards and end body shaming; these are continual processes. Through promoting diversity, encouraging mutual support, and cultivating a self-love mindset, we may establish a community in which each person is appreciated and views themselves as attractive without modification. Let's implement this change little by little.

Rab Rakha!!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Detaching from expectations is the key to finding true peace!

One of the few things in life we control is our reaction to things. And expectations tee up those reactions. They often set the odds on the outcome, and the odds usually aren’t in your favour. I’ve decided I’d rather stick with actual reactions rather than put my reactions at a disadvantage by mixing them with my everything-should-be-amazing imagination.

When you don’t have expectations, you experience things objectively rather than tinted with presupposition. Then if you do happen to be disappointed, it’s only because the experience wasn’t good, not that you thought it would be INSANELY GREAT and then only ended up as GOOD. A good experience should always leave you smiling, rather than disappointed because it didn’t measure up to a story you made up.

Leaving expectations out of it makes everything more direct. It’s simply how you feel about something rather than how you feel coloured by how you thought you were going to feel. To put it another way, not having expectations means you can’t be let down. Being let down means something didn’t measure up to what you expected. So instead of being let down about something, I’d just be unsatisfied with the outcome. That may sound subtle, but it has a distinctly different emotional impact. Expectations are what let you down, not outcomes. Outcomes just are. I’ll evaluate those rather than how they measured up to some artificial line in the mental sand.

In practice. We don't work with expectations. We simply do our best work and the chips fall where they may. Having expectations makes outcomes binary — you did what you hoped to do, or you didn’t. I’d prefer to live with just doing and enjoying the flow. BTW, predictions are different from expectations. Predictions don’t come with an emotional impact if the outcome doesn’t measure up. Predict wrong? “I was wrong”. Expectations not met? “That sucks”. See the emotional difference?

In my personal life, I don’t have expectations of others, except to say that I assume all people are good until proven otherwise. I’m more interested in how people are, than what I expect them to be. If you ever want to be disappointed by someone, set unrealistic expectations. Of course, as you get to know someone you have a sense of what they’re capable of, but even then, people just do as they do, they don’t miss, meet, or exceed my expectations.

If I’m competing in something, I don’t expect to win. I want to win. I’ll do my best to win. But I don’t expect to win. My expectations have nothing to do with what I’m competing on, and I don’t control the other side. I can only do my best regardless, so why measure that against anything other than the ultimate outcome?

When I go to a movie, I don’t expect it to be bad, good, or great — I just want to go see the movie. I may have heard something about it prior to seeing it, but that's someone else's opinion, not my expectation. After it’s over I can ask myself if I liked it or not, not how it measured up to how much I thought I’d like it (or not). I’m convinced that people would like things a whole lot more if someone else didn’t tell them they wouldn’t like it. Stuff’s pretty great, you know.

When I head to the airport, I don’t dread security or lines or waits. Why? Because I have no expectations of those things. And let’s face it — expectations of those things are usually bad. So, if they are actually bad, you expect disappointment and get it. What a sad way to start a day.

When I go for a walk once in a blue when I get time, I don’t expect to walk a 6-minute mile, but if I do, great. And if I don’t that’s fine too — I still went for a walk. If I was competing, that might be different, but I’m just enjoying it.

When the new iPhone comes out, I’m never disappointed that it didn’t have this or that. I’m usually delighted. Why? Because I wasn’t expecting anything other than something new. I can judge that thing when it exists, rather than setting up opportunities to be upset. The number of people who complain about something new that didn’t exist five minutes ago is a testament to the negative power of expectations.

Is this indifference? It’s not — I’m not indifferent. I have plenty of opinions and points of view. Some strongly held, others less so. But I only consider outcomes once they happen rather than writing a script in my mind that I react to after the fact.

I wasn’t always this way. I used to set up expectations in my head all day long. Constantly measuring reality against an imagined reality is taxing and tiring. I think it often wrings the joy out of just experiencing something for what it is. So, over the past few years, I’ve let those go and ended up considerably happier and more content.

And really, every day has a shot at being pretty great when your only expectation is that the sun comes up.

Rab Rakha!!!!!