UAE-Based Para-Athlete and Motivational Speaker Zainab Al-Eqabi On Self-Love, Positivity, and Acceptance
In recognition of her ongoing efforts to champion a message of self-acceptance, Bazaar reached out to Zainab for some positive affirmations
What we need right now is the strength to visualise better times, and a motivational voice can do wonders to help.
If you need some words of wisdom, they don’t come more inspiring than those of para-athlete and motivational speaker Zainab Al-Eqabi, who despite losing her left leg at age seven, after a bomb explosion in Baghdad, has gone on to master sports including diving, swimming and cycling, all while keeping 1.5million instagram followers and over 600K YouTube subscribers inspired.Â
The UAE-based influencer is celebrating her own good news after being appointed as The Body Shop’s ‘self-love’ ambassador – in recognition of her ongoing efforts to champion the message of self-acceptance, Bazaar reached out to Zainab for some positive affirmations…
A good relationship with yourself will help you to achieve much more.
Feeling love for yourself is a kind of power; it makes you more passionate about everything you do on a daily basis, it makes you stronger. It gives you greater patience with all you face because you are satisfied with who you are and the way you deal with things – the good things and the bad things.
Take some quality time to appreciate yourself.
Enjoy some silence to speak to your own thoughts and discuss things internally, it can help you understand and appreciate yourself. Do this by going for dinner alone or going into nature and getting some fresh air. Consider spoiling yourself, recognise that you did good and say: ‘I deserved this’. You need to not just appreciate what others do for you but what you do for yourself.
Finding a way out of difficulties is a journey that takes time.
It’s not something that can happen in one day – that’s impossible. The first part of the journey is to recognise why you’re not feeling ok, what is happening and why this has an influence over you. Then move onto how you’re going to deal with it; this could include friends and family, but you don’t have to be dependent on them – you can stand on your own.
For me, the journey was about self acceptance.
I lost my leg when I was a child due to a landmine explosion followed by a medical mistake. Although my dad lost his hand in the accident too, he felt guilty and wanted to protect me from society, so I had to deal with trauma and a parent who could be very protective. My way out was self-love. I had to learn to accept myself, and explain that I didn’t need their protection, that I was happy with who I am. Understanding ‘acceptance’, means you can move on. It can cause chaos mentally if you don’t.
What happened to me is just part of my journey of self-discovery.
Self-love will help you move forward. It made me realise that I don’t need to feel shy to go out without my prosthetic leg. Why should I hide it if I don’t want to? Just for the sake of looking ‘perfect’ for society? I love the way I am, it made me want to take off the cosmetic part of my artificial leg and have it fully exposed so that people would see and learn – so I could raise awareness. I wanted people to learn to be proud of themselves just the way they are.
Things will definitely get better.
I always like to remind myself of the statement: ‘This, too, shall pass’. We’re living through something that’s a one-time experience, whatever we’re facing is definitely going to pass and there’s something on the way that’s brighter. Whatever your struggle, one day you might wake up and properly understand why that bad incident had to happen. Everything happens for a reason, whether good or bad – it will eventually take you to your destination.
From Harper’s Bazaar Arabia’s March 2021 issue
