IT’S a common saying – Love yourself before you can love others. And this remains true and will always be.
Self-love must come first. But not all own this kind of love, yet. Self-love is a journey and for some it’s never easy. But for Arcadia Fitness Gym instructor and fitness coach Janice Juaban self-love is accepting your flaws and weaknesses, facing your fears, and making an effort to become the better version of yourself.
One manifestation of self-love is making oneself fit and healthy. As others may say, the gym is often a place of self-love. She emphasized that self-love is crucial in one’s fitness journey.
“Self-love is knowing your worth thereby taking care of yourself,” she said in a phone interview with Sunstar Davao.
But she shared that there are some who misinterpret self-love with insecurity. She said some are hitting the gym not because they wanted to be healthy and fit but to ask validation and acceptance from the society.
“Some people are very distracted with the judgmental society; they wanted to be fit just because they needed validation from the people around them and impress others. But, it shouldn’t be that. You don’t do it (gym exercise) for validation, you do it because you want it for you,” she said.
For others who decided to take a huge step in self-love and started enrolling to a fitness center, the process may be halted with intimidation and insecurities. This is commonly caused by a pool of fit individuals inside the gym punching you with the self-imposed reality that you can never be like them, and then the comparison game begins.
“That is normal, it’s okay to feel intimidated. But always remember that you are unique. And use that feeling to power you, challenge yourself, and let it work for your advantage,” Juaban said.
She also advised that for those who feel intimidated and insecure, it is best to open this concern to your fitness coach.
“And as a good coach, you should direct your clients to the right path (towards self-love),” she said.
In one’s journey to fitness and self-love, Juaban underscored that it is important to know that the way you think about your body has a huge effect on the actions you take.
“It’s okay to focus on yourself. Be kind to yourself and acknowledge that you are enough. Appreciate you. Acknowledge you. Exist for yourself before you exist for others,” she said.
Arcadia Fitness Gym is open daily from 6 a.m. until 10 p.m. It is located just across The Matina Enclaves at Col. Emilio Escandor St., along Quimpo Boulevard, Ecoland Drive, Davao City.