By now, most have heard of body positivity, but the concept of body neutrality is not quite aswell known. However, it might be easier to practice for some. If your someone who isntparticularly inspired by gratitude practices or you dont appreciate being told to be positive allthe time, this might be the movement for you. Body neutrality is about ratcheting down theexhortations to love your physical being and gives you permission to stop thinking in thoseterms at all.Instead of thinking about concepts like beauty and love, you might shift to thinking more interms of function. You can appreciate what your body does for you without having to feel likeyoure also a cheerleader for it. While both approaches are focused on taking the emphasisaway from unattainable ideals and work to discourage perfectionism, neutrality is often easierto achieve than positivity. Keep reading for more on how to shift into this mindset and how itmight enhance your life.Find an Activity You LoveEveryone knows that feeling of getting really involved in something, whether its a game, abook, a movie or a conversation, and losing track of other things, including your worries. This isessentially the idea when it comes to finding an activity that you love to do, whether itsrunning, playing pickleball, tai chi, yoga, swimming or just taking a walk. Using your body to dosomething that you enjoy helps you shift your focus away from how you look and focus on whatyoure capable of.It can also help you genuinely appreciate that however you may feel about your physicalshortcomings, youre able to do this thing that you love. In turn, rather than saying over andover, I love my legs and finding it only makes you think about how much you hate your legs,you can switch to fact-based statements. For example, My legs carried me five miles todaymight feel a lot more natural than insisting that you love them.Consider Cosmetic ChangesFor some, body positivity can backfire by making you feel like you arent allowed to want tochange anything. However, with neutrality, theres room for cosmetic surgery. What you maywant to do here is dig deep into the reasons that youre considering surgery. Maybe youd like to tighten up loose skin after a significant weight loss. Maybe youve felt that a certain feature has always hindered your ability to be entirely unselfconscious. These are obviously things that you can live with because thats exactly what youre doing, but if you feel that surgery would better reflect who you really are, theres no reason not to go ahead with it. In fact, it might even help your body feel more functional, which is the whole idea behind this neutrality.One obstacle for many people when considering cosmetic surgery is cost. Like most, you maybe dealing with increasing healthcare costs and insurance coverage thats inconsistent. High-deductible health plans can leave you paying out of pocket and never seeing the benefit of theactual plan itself. Even good plans may not cover the exact type of surgery youre after, leavingyou to choose between not getting it done at all and medical debt. Health care organizationsdont want to deal with debt any more than you do, and there coping with their ownchallenges, including billing department costs and revenue cycle management. Utilizing patient payment financing offers a solution that benefits both patients and providers. It allows you tomove forward with the cosmetic procedure that you want while your providers get paid. Youcan apply online and find out quickly whether youre approved.Stop StrivingOne of the best things about the movement toward neutrality instead of positivity is that itallows you to stop trying to constantly reach for something and simply be. In fact, if you thinkabout it, theres an element of the positivity movement that forces you to think about yourbody all the time because youre always trying to remind yourself that its beautiful. Withneutrality, you can finally just relax.You can think about other things. If even something like My body is strong and useful feelslike an affirmation too far for you, you can simply shift your attention elsewhere, whether thatsfocusing on your job, a hobby, your family or something else. For many, this is a more effectiveapproach to reducing the time that you spend in negative rumination.Get Clothes and Accessories You LikeEven if you dont enjoy shopping, you might like having new clothes. Even if you dont care about clothes, what about shoes, jewelry or a new bag? The key is to pick out things that youfeel genuinely express who you are. When your wearing a pair of boots that you love or acolorful coat that demonstrates your creative side, your moving beyond the idea that yourappearance is supposed to conform to a particular standard.Instead, your using how you look to feel more confident about who you are. If you arententirely sure what your style is or what to wear, you might want to consider looking into apersonal stylist or shopper. There are also apps and online services that can connect you toboth human and AI powered stylists that can help you get into the clothes that feel like youeven if you arent sure what that is yet.Let the Thoughts ComeThere can be something almost meditative about practicing body neutrality. In meditation, youlearn to observe emotions and thoughts without attaching yourself to them. With neutrality,you can do this as well. Maybe youve said to yourself, I need to lose weight. In the past, thismight have led to a spiral of negative self-talk.Positivity might have encouraged you to say something like, I am wonderful just as I am! Thismay have felt unnatural. With neutrality, you can simply observe that youd like to lose someweight and leave the thought there. You don't have to attach any value or emotion to the idea,either negative or positive.The post Embracing Body Neutrality: Tips for a Journey Toward Acceptance appeared first on LGBTQ and ALL.