Material Health VS Realistic Health

“I love that bag!” 

“Those shoes would look amazing with my sundress!”

“I need this to make me feel better!”

My question is “Why?”. We are all eager to reach for a material item like clothes, shoes, makeup, hair products, and so much more to make ourselves feel ‘good’, or at least feel better. Department stores make millions off clothing sales each year and why? I understand that our bodies need clothing but we can only wear one outfit a day! Trust me, I love to shop for clothes just as much as the next girl. But why do women continue to use shopping as a therapy for low self-confidence? Let me tell you my philosophy.

For years, people have supported department stores, MLM companies, and small town boutiques. I LOVE that we as women unite to support those companies. I personally think that supporting another women’s business creates huge momentum in the women standing together world, but we can talk about that topic another time. Currently, I witnessed at least 20 or more people stand outside a department store waiting for it to open at 10 o’clock in the morning. Most people are waiting so they can go buy stuff they don’t need. Many women use shopping as coping mechanisms to deal with low self-confidence, stress, anxiety, and even boredom. The list goes on and on. 

Here is my solution. Many women use shopping for materialistic items as a way to make themselves feel better, but the feeling is only temporary. As women we struggle with a lot of emotions and hormones. I can attest to this from personal experience. Instead of dealing with our emotions and problems head on we like to sit back and hide behind the clothes, shoes, and make up. I did this for a very long time and had the mindset that if I could just look like this girl or have those clothes I would instantly look and feel better. This is not true! Quit feeding yourself these lies and hiding behind materialistic things in life. 

Realistically speaking, our problems and emotions don’t go away until we deal with them passionately and intentionally. Personally for me, it was breaking my bad habits. The best way I did this was to 1) Stop hiding behind my materialistic obsessions and 2) Focus on one bad habit, improve it, and move on to the next. Bad habits form over time, but they can be broken and replaced with good ones. Pick one thing that you want to work on and devote your time and effort to it until you are LOVING your life. For me, it was my physical health. I educated myself on nutrition and workouts that could fit into my lifestyle. Over time I trained myself to love working out and eating nutritious food. You can do anything you set your mind to! Stop hiding and LIVE the life YOU want! No one else is living your life besides you!