Ever look at a photo of yourself and think, “gawd I look bad,” or some variation on that theme? I’m guessing that we all have. No matter how good you might look to someone else, we always seem to find something we don’t like about ourselves.

While I don’t subscribe to self-loathing thoughts, I do feel that we can learn from photos of ourselves.

For instance, the photo above is of me attempting a “Tree Pose.” While I’m no yoga master, I know enough to recognize that my form in this particular photo leaves something to be desired. I know better than to make the errors I made in this effort and I’m one of those people who feel that form is everything.  In my mind, you should strive for good form in everything you do. In athletic endeavors, form is as important as speed. You can’t go fast unless you have good form. This is a rule I live by. So, you can imagine how disappointed I was to see this photo of myself looking like a lopsided tree rather than the strong, Zen form I was attempting.

With that, I would like: Each of you reading this to find one recent photo of yourself that exposes something that you disapprove of. Then, I want you to make an effort this week to fix what you see. It’s just for this week. Sure, the changes you might want to make may need longer than a week to revise but taking things one week at a time is a start. I say lets take things in small bits. Large goals or changes can be intimidating. For now, all I’m asking is that you focus on one thing, for one week. You can do anything for a single week! Right?

So, for me, I have a list of things about myself that need revising but for this week (based on this one photograph) I’m going to focus on my yogic form, specifically my “Tree Pose.” I’ll do some research to confirm, but I know that my head should be centered and that my foot should never rest on my knee-joint (can be above or below). I know that my hips should be facing forward rather than the one hip that is scooching inward. While I realize that most of you reading this can’t imagine why I am so concerned about my Tree Pose, I want to remind you that we all have our issues, and for the purpose of this post, this is mine. So, look at some innocent photos of yourself and find one small thing to work on this week.

Are ya with me?