Oxford Dictionaries define selfie as "a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website."
The word selfie was officially added to the dictionary in 2013, and let's be honest, we all take selfies. Ever since we've had a cell phone that could take a photo, we have been snapping pictures of our beautiful selves.
It's a commonplace to post our selfies to social media since selfies and social media go together like wine and cheese. Unfortunately, social media gets a bad rep at times as a platform that promotes a "look at me" culture, allowing people to brag and show off their latest trips, accomplishments, and beauty.
It is all too easy and common to see these wonderous and beautiful-looking activities, places, and people and compare yourself to them. This comparison between your life and others can take people down a path of mental and emotional health struggles.
However, I want to introduce and speak about the benefits of selfies and how we can use them to fuel your fitness goals.
1. Selfies in Fitness
Selfies are popular in the fitness community to document and share during or after a workout. These photos or short videos are commonly posted to social media channels for followers & friends to view and engage with.
Likes, comments, and reposts are all traditional ways to interact with the person posting their photo.
However, the photo does not have to make its way to social media. It can be for your eyes only and serve a variety of purposes. Reach Your Fitness Goal with Gym Selfies
2. Selfies in Goal Setting
If you frequent my blog articles, you probably know how important it is to set realistic and measurable goals for yourself. To progress and improve, one must set goals and benchmarks.
Driving down a road with no purpose can be amusing, but it usually won't take you to a specific destination. Use your selfies to set and measure your goals.
Have a photo of yourself from five years ago when you were in great shape? Use that selfie as your body goal.
Have a photo from a time where you were loving life and extremely happy? Use that selfie as your mental health goal.
Have you been working your butt off and seeing incredible results?
Take a selfie every 2-4 weeks and use it as progress photos to see how far you have come. Selfies in goal setting help highlight your successes.
The path to change in physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing is shaped by small wins, and looking back to see where and how far you've come can motivate and propel you forward.
3. Selfies & Accountability
If your goal is your destination for a road trip, then accountability is your co-pilot. The co-pilot is with you every step of the way and helps keep you on course when you become distracted or unmotivated.
Upon telling someone or writing down your goal, the likelihood you will reach this goal significantly increases. This is because these two small actions now make you accountable to yourself and anyone else with who you share your goal.
We don't like letting people down, and we care what other people think of us. So if you tell your friends or family you want to work out 3x per week, we want to hold to our word.
We can also use selfies to stay accountable to ourselves.
The selfies can be for your eyes only and be all the motivation we need to remind ourselves why we set our goals. Whether or not you want to share your selfies with your friends, family, or the entire world is up to you.
But, posting selfies can help you find phenomenal fitness communities that help motivate and keep you on track—receiving just one comment or like can provide the boost and support you need to continue your journey.
Find an old selfie or take a new one to help set goals and hold you accountable in your pursuit of wellbeing.
