You're More Beautiful Than You Think!

I was just perusing my Facebook feed and saw that one of my friend's had shared Dove's video, below. He said it was worth the watch and so I did. Worth it, indeed. Not only did I get a bit choked up during it, but it really got me thinking. So much so that I decided not to go with the light, funny post I had intended for tonight. I know the video is three minutes (which is hours in social media time), but it really is something. Watch it and then read my thoughts below, if you so desire!

This video is about so much more than women's self confidence. It's about self perception and how we see ourselves. Everyone is their own worst critic, that is just fact. Even the prettiest girls can't help but beat themselves up from time to time. What shocked me the most about this video was that these women, who were in their 20's, 30's and 40's, had such distorted perceptions of what they looked like. Self deprecation knows no bounds. It doesn't differentiate between age. I suppose if someone had asked me at what age are women most vulnerable about their appearance, I would've said late teens to early twenties. Maybe that's because that's when I felt the most disconnected in my body. It upsets me that beautiful women in their 30's and 40's are still feeling the way I felt for a short time in my life. I wasn't as much of a "I have this wrong with me" insecure, but more of a "I wish I had that girl's legs/stomach/arms/fill in the body part" type of insecure. In hindsight, that's basically the same thing but it was the comparing myself to other people that was the most hurtful to myself. I don't really know when I started to grow out of this. It was a slow process of getting older, experiencing more things, and just becoming more comfortable in my own skin. I learned to accept what my body had the potential to look like (I will never be a size 2, or even 4 for that matter because I have hips and no amount of exercise or diet will change them). But I know that with regular exercise and a moderately healthy diet, I can get to a point when looking in the mirror not only doesn't make me cringe but maybe even makes me smile.

In this video, these women described themselves in terms of their flaws (or what they perceived to be flaws) whereas the strangers described them in terms of their best features. I think what's important to take away is that the world sees you in terms of your best, not in terms of your worst. Only you are looking at those dark circles underneath your big, beautiful expressive eyes. Strangers just see those eyes. I think it is so important to be kind to ourselves and to try focusing on the positive every once in a while. All this negativity is just bringing us down. This was reinforced by the blonde lady near the end of the video who, when looking at both sketches, realized that the one she described looked "sad" whereas the stranger's description looked more "open" and "happy". So, do yourself a favor and be nice to yourself today, it just may make you happier!

I can't say it any better than Dove did, so I won't: You're more beautiful than you think!

j.