I’m not sure how much people are influenced by the media as regards their self-image, but even if they are not, most people tend to concentrate on their perceived imperfections. They think that they are the wrong shape, don’t like their nose, or worry that they have too many lines. Here are some reasons not to worry about imperfections.
Perfection just doesn’t exist. Even people who we think look amazing have their own insecurities. So why worry about something that, in your eyes, makes you look bad? There is absolutely no point in aspiring to an impossible ideal (that way lies the kind of obsessive surgery that makes you look far worse).
If you concentrate too much on the things that you don’t like about yourself, you will find yourself becoming more and more aware of them. You feed your own insecurities. Eventually it gets to the point where your nose (for example) assumes gigantic proportions – but only in your imagination.
Why are we so negative about ourselves, when we wouldn’t dream of being so critical of someone else? Instead of focussing on what we don’t like, we should be concentrating on our good points. It’s not vain, it’s about self-esteem.
Ask a redhead if she likes her hair colour, and she may well say no. It wouldn’t even occur to her that her friends envy her! It’s often the same story with curly hair. What we see as imperfections, others may like, or not even notice.
Some people may envy the fact that I am very slim, yet I spent years hating it. Now I don’t think it’s right or wrong, I have simply learnt to accept that it is how I am, and not worry about it. It really isn’t worth wasting years disliking your own body and appearance.
Spending so much time thinking how much you dislike certain things about yourself is really depressing. Why do we do it to ourselves? In some people, this self-criticism goes as far as developing body dysmorphia, but even if it doesn’t reach such a serious extent, it’s bound to make you feel down.
If there’s something you don’t like about your appearance, you may be able to do something to change it (and I don’t mean surgery). Find a more flattering haircut, get contacts if you don’t like how glasses make you look. Simple changes can make you feel better, without being obsessive.
Finally, learn to like yourself as you are! We’re none of us as bad as we think we are when we look in the mirror, so let’s learn to be happy with ourselves, inside and out. A little positive thinking can go a long way. We only get one body, so get used to the one you’ve got!
Has this made you think – do you spend far too much time thinking about what you don’t like about yourself, and can you try to change how you see yourself?
Top Photo Credit: Jacqueline Harriet