Today, Felicity Lumb, who writes a blog called The Life and Loves of a girl called Felicity, is sharing with us about perseverance.  She has a powerful story to tell as she battled with and overcame anorexia.  She turned something negative into something positive - I love her honesty! Her blog was started as a way for her to promote healthy body image and fight mental health stigma.  Thanks Felicity for reminding us to Keep Loving the Skin We're In!  I'm so glad I reached out and connected with you! Read Felicity's interview below.

What is the best piece of advice you have ever received? Who did you receive it from?

“Be yourself, everyone else in taken”  I came across this quote on the internet and it really rang true with me, I had spent my life trying to please others and punishing myself for not fitting into the “ideal” mould of beauty. The truth is people who judge you purely on your appearance aren’t worth worrying about or wasting your time over. It’s the people in your life who love you for YOU, they are the ones worth holding onto.

How important is mentorship in terms of your success?

It doesn’t matter who you are everyone can benefit from having someone to help guide them along the way, I use to be so stubborn – I didn’t want anybodies help, I use to have the mentality that asking/needing help was a sign of weakness, this of course is not true. As soon as I swallowed my pride, especially when it came to asking for help with my mental health difficulties, a whole new world opened up for me.

What has been the best moment in your life so far?

Receiving emails and messages from people who have read my blog and said “I can really relate to what you’re saying” or “Thank you for giving me the motivation to start loving my body” whatever it is, every message is a huge buzz for me, I’m just like “yes I’m making a difference”, even if only 1 person read my blog and said “I’m going to start loving my body” that’s what makes me happy, those are the best moments I could wish for!!

What tips would you have for living a healthy life?

“Love your body”, my theory is simple: if you love your body, you are more likely to look after it!

How do you motivate yourself to persist despite setbacks?

PMA – positive mental attitude! Life is full of setbacks, but when one door closes a better one opens, you have to believe this, even in your darkest moments, otherwise it’d be so easy to give up on something that could make your life great!

What has been your biggest setback? How did you deal with it? What did you learn from it?

It was probably after my fourth miscarriage, I’d put my heart and soul into recovering from anorexia so I could start a family but then I found out the damage I had done to my body irreversible and having a baby wasn’t going to happen, and yeah I cried, I screamed, I kicked off - but after I let out my anger I chose to share my story – to warn women over the dangers of extreme dieting and to stand up say “hey this does happen to people” I was told by doctors when I was anorexic my fertility may be effected, but I didn’t believe them, I even knew anorexics who had had children themselves, so why would I? I learnt never to take your health for granted, it’s the most precious gift you are given.

How do you deal with critics?

Not very well it has to be said! I get upset when people say negative things about me, unless its constructive of course! but the like the bible says it is: 'Better to be criticised by a wise person than to be praised by a fool' (Ecclesiastes 7:5 NLT).

How important is social support in overcoming obstacles?

Hugely important, it is human nature to have a group of people we can relate too, share stories and advice with. Wherever you seek out and gain that support from - be it an internet forum, a blog, friends or family – seek it!! The internet is such a wonderful tool for bringing like minded people together,  There is nothing worse than feeling alone when you are faced with obstacles, and there really is no need to fight alone!

What advice would you give others about goal setting?

Start small – identify what the end goal is and break it down into smaller tasks. For instance if you were starting a blog: you would first find out the best website to host it on, then decide upon a title and theme, then find your target audience ect. ect.

What life lesson have you learned that you would like to pass along to others?

• Don’t let others dictate to you how to live your life – life is o short to wake up with regrets
• Focus on the positive – no matter how bad things seem they’ll always be something positive to learn from it, find it and hold onto it
• Find spirituality - I am not here to tell you what you should or should not believe in, but making a spiritual journey might help you live a healthier and happier life, both emotionally and physically. Embrace all that you have and what’s around you.
• And most importantly (for me) - Love the skin you’re in - be happy and be healthy and don't compare yourself to others. Your body (and self esteem) will thank you for it.

Thanks, Felicity, for sharing your life lessons with us! Keep up the amazing work you are doing.

Thank you for reading and your presence at this beach retreat. You Rock! I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts in the comment section below.

See you at the beach!