Did you forget you had your Spanx on?

I know some of you missed it, and believe me you told me about it, so I’ll recap this Periscope episode. Did you forget you had your Spanx on? What did I mean by that?

This Periscope episode aimed to bring awareness to the illusions that many of us create and hold onto in our lives. Trust me, I am not saying there is anything wrong with wearing shapewear; for many of us it is a necessary enhancement.

The problem comes in when we wear this garment, or façade, to the extreme. For example, some people wear their shapewear so much that they practically sleep in it! There are so many variations that can make you look three or more dress sizes smaller. If wearing these garments are a part of your daily ritual, it is so easy to forget what size you actually are. For people who feel they cannot go out in public for a second without these garments, I can only imagine how defeated you feel once you take them off. Those people easily forget their actual dress size but extreme use can cause damage to your internal organs. Long term confinement—pressing, squeezing and binding—can have an irreversible, damaging affect.

Now if that is true of a material garment, imagine the effects of the mental, emotional and physical ties that bind us: lies, pain, hurt, shame, failures, broken relationships, lust, sex, food, alcohol, greed, arrogance, envy and so forth. Today, ask yourself, What things have I used to alter my appearance and the way others perceive? The image I present to the world, is that the same person I see when I look in the mirror?

Just like with shapewear, articles of adornment/accessories can be wonderful enhancements that increase our self-esteem, sharpen our image and allow us to put our best foot forward. Caution: if your sense of worth, value or purpose is diminished when you remove those articles, you might want to think about the tie that binds you and if you should eliminate it. If not, the world will love the image you set before them while you are left to live with the broken, diminished authentic version of you.

In the words of songstress Lauryn Hill: How can you win if you ain’t right within?