Spring is finally here, which means that soon it will be sunny and warm and…bathing suit season!

Did your heart begin to palpitate just now?

Before your anxiety and self-loathing get the best of you, I need you to hear me out.

There are more important things to worry about than how you look in a bathing suit.

Yes, we all feel pressure to look a certain way or dress to fit the trends. We want to avoid sweating through our clothes, so we are drawn to shorter hems and teeny tops that help us stay cool (and look cute).

But we end up exposing more than our skin: our insecurities about holiday weight gain, another failure to keep up with our new year’s fitness goals, a compulsive need to exercise the winter calories away, deep-seated hurt feelings from a middle school bully who called us “fat,” and the desire to rock our new bikini like the obscenely airbrushed model who donned it online.

You name an ugly thought, and we all have had it—in some form or fashion—about ourselves.

But instead of beating ourselves up, drinking celery juice, and ramping up the cardio, what if we reframed our thoughts and chose to place our energies into something memorable and beneficial?

I think we all should try it.

Instead of cutting carbs and placing desserts on the “no-buy” list, how about driving to the “you-pick” farm to pick strawberries and (shhh…just between us!) sample a few of the reddest and juiciest straight off the bush?

Instead of waking at 5:00 AM to run before work in order to lose “those last 5 pounds” to better fit your bathing suit, why don’t you take a leisurely bike ride with your family on a breezy afternoon? 

Instead of worrying if you’re tan enough for a Caribbean cruise planned months out, why don’t you sit on the front porch and watch lightning emblazon the sky amidst the infinite shades of gray storm clouds? 

Instead of pulling a t-shirt over your belly when your four-year-old pokes it and says “mom, you’re squishy,” why not laugh and lean back in your backyard kiddie pool while the sun warms all that well-earned squishiness?

Instead of watching hungrily while your family members slurp melting ice cream cones at your go-to local shop, why don’t you get a double scoop of your two favorite flavors because it just freaking tastes good?

Instead of staring in front of the mirror itemizing your endless “flaws,” why don’t you play an outdoor game of “I spy” with your kids, because the palette of a backyard in bloom will keep you guessing for hours? 

There are more important things than how you look in a bathing suit! Share on X

It’s not a secret: we all have insecurities about what we perceive to be flaws, and until we refuse to give them power over us, then we will never enjoy the simple pleasures of life.

Put on your swimsuit (and sunscreen, duh) and don’t let the joys of life sneak away from you this season.