If we were to stop chasing this ideal and feeding our desire for it, an enormous amount of revenue would be lost.  Therefore, entire industries of people are invested in maintaining it.  For them, it is necessary to keep large numbers of us convinced that it is possible, but at the same time make the ideal slightly out of reach.  They insist that all we have to do is buy their product or service and commit to its continuous use.  Otherwise, they warn, we will be rejected; worthless, unloved, and alone.  Sadly, this strategy works.  Worse yet, we have internalized it as our own standard. 

If we could reject the power of the ideal, free ourselves, who among us would wear make-up or butt-lifting girdles, shave under our arms, starve ourselves for weeks just to lose five or ten pounds, or choose a push-up bra rather than an oversized, soft sweatshirt?  If we could just convince ourselves that love and happiness cannot be measured by our Body Mass Index number, we might find that these inherently valuable qualities are indeed rare, but at the same time limitless.  If we stopped chasing the ideal, got off the treadmill literally as well as metaphorically, we might experience a shift in awareness that reveals the things we are truly missing, the things that we really want, the things that would finally lead us to an authentically healthy, good life.