Mirror, Mirror: Less Hateration, More Dancerie.

Hey beauties.

How's your self-talk?

Like, what sorts of conversations do you have with you?

I was thinking about this at the gym yesterday.

My trainer, Emily, was laughing

as I gave my shoulders a pep talk

before a fourth set of overhead presses.

"YOU READY, BITCHES?!?"

I said.

(To me, Bitch is a top shelf term of endearment).

I squeezed and patted my upper arms

like beloved teammates,

and I listened when they told me 5 reps 

was all they had.

I have been working my self-talk game for years now.

"You are figuring this out,"

I say, instead of

"Nothing you do is working."

"You need to take a break,"

I say, instead of

"Keep pushing keep pushing keep pushing."

I say,

instead of

This is no small feat, ladies,

in a culture that teaches you to ask yourself shit like

"Does this make me look fat?"

and cautions you constantly

to be small 

(literally / figuratively)

and not to get Too Full of Yourself.

(That cautionary voice just slipped into my head,

actually.

"Aren't you being a little obnoxious?"

it asks,

"Tryna act like you have it aaaalllll figured out,"

it sneers.)

** deep breaths **

"Oh, Critical Self,"

I answer.

"I get where you're coming from,

but we can't breathe there,

so we're leaving all that behind."

Okay.

Like I was saying:

Me & my Mirror Bitches have been reconciling

for years now.

We know:

the more we love each other,

the stronger we get.

And

the stronger we get,

the more we help others

(friends / daughters / clients / colleagues / aunties /

occasional feminist menz)

love their Mirror Bitches, too. 

We're forming battalions of Bitches

who take no shit,

especially from ourselves.

YOU READY?