We all know the old adage, “New year, new me”. And while that usually does fall to the wayside by January 5th, that doesn’t mean you can’t begin planning your “new me” now so that you CAN see the changes in you that you’re looking for. Perhaps the easiest way to really see actual, physical results, is to begin work on a new tattoo!
Oftentimes, after people go through large bodily transformations, they struggle to see themselves for a bit, or even struggle with their new identity. A great way to take your power back and really see yourself again is by having tattoo work done on you. By doing this, you are deciding what you want to look like, and specifically choosing what goes on your body. Oftentimes, especially after massive weight loss, we can suffer from a bit of body dysmorphia and even though you’ve made positive changes, the changes are still jarring. After all, you’ve looked the way you’ve looked for a long time. Its normal to feel these feelings. But imagine sculpting the body you’ve always wanted, and then adorn your arm or leg or wherever with a stunning piece of art! It can truly cause you to fall in love with yourself all over again. New body art has often been connected to an improved sense of self image. Look at getting tattooed as a radical act of loving and cherishing ourselves, regardless of societies standard of beauty.
Also, consider this: getting tattooed is greatly about the control of emotions, and a extreme way of getting touch with our bodies. By experiencing the pain of tattoos, you can finally hear your body. You connect with it. You appreciate the lengths it goes to protect us, and the ability it has to heal after sustaining an injury, even when its an intentional one. Given how widespread the tattoo is, and apparently always has been, some psychologists have suggested that it may have an evolutionary purpose. According to one theory, you would have needed to have a strong immune system to survive the danger of infection after getting your skin tattooed; if she survived, she could prove that she had good genes to pass on to her children. In this way, it acted as a sign of physical fitness, making you more sexually attractive to potential partners. Its no secret that you need to be physically healthy for the most part in order to be tattooed. If you can a disease that compromises your immune system, more than likely you’ll want to avoid getting tattoos, or at the very least, large scale tattoos. But by showing off an entirely tattooed arm, or leg, or whatever you want tattooed, you are showing others and yourself that your health is so pristine that you can withstand having hours of work done on your body, and you body is able to heal the entire thing, with little to moderate ease. Having work done on your body is a testament to bodily and mental strength!
So when the new year rings in, and you want to see a somewhat immediate change, think about FINALLY starting on that new piece of art on your body!