Redefining Beauty – Recognizing the Beauty Within
May 19, 2017 09:06
When you think of beauty, does your mind automatically jump to looks? If it does, you probably have a set of standards you’re working from about what beauty actually looks like. And do you meet those beauty standards? The reality is, we all have a preconceived definition of what we think beauty is…and it’s probably not healthy.
So how do we actively work to redefine beauty? It all starts from within. Too cheesy for you?
Think about it this way - what’s on the inside often reflects itself on the outside, whether it’s a radiating self-love or an overabundance of toxic thoughts.
We tend to judge others using the same criteria with which we judge ourselves, except we judge ourselves more harshly. So why do we so often give others the benefit of the doubt while we proceed to beat ourselves up? We need to learn to love ourselves again and to recognize and embrace our inner beauty. We’ve come up with five easy ways to do just that.
“To challenge traditional beauty standards and redefine what beauty means. We embrace ‘imperfections’ and the nontraditional—both inside and out.”
So how do we actively work to redefine beauty? It all starts from within. Too cheesy for you?
Think about it this way - what’s on the inside often reflects itself on the outside, whether it’s a radiating self-love or an overabundance of toxic thoughts.
We tend to judge others using the same criteria with which we judge ourselves, except we judge ourselves more harshly. So why do we so often give others the benefit of the doubt while we proceed to beat ourselves up? We need to learn to love ourselves again and to recognize and embrace our inner beauty. We’ve come up with five easy ways to do just that.
5 Ways to Recognize Your Inner Beauty
List the qualities you find beautiful in yourself and others.
It’s time to put pen to paper and do a little self-reflection. What is it in others that draws you to them? What qualities about yourself do you love? Make a list of these things while keeping in mind the ways that culture has skewed your view of what’s beautiful. It’s all about perspective.Meditate on personality, not looks.
Easier said than done, right? Honestly, what sets a person apart and attracts people to them all comes down to personality. We’ve all met someone who we thought was physically beautiful, but couldn’t stand to be around because of their personality…ultimately, that is not what we want for ourselves. Focus on the intangibles that make you beautiful, things like kindness, humor and honesty.Be real.
It doesn’t do any good to “put on” traits you don’t naturally have. Of course, you can always improve yourself, but try to focus on the strengths that are inherent to your personality. We’re all drawn to authenticity, so be the most authentic version of YOU.Do some self-discovery.
You’d be amazed at how much you can learn about yourself through a simple assessment. Take some legitimate personality assessments and learn more about how you react in certain situations and what drives you. These are obviously not the last word on who you are, but they can help you have a greater awareness of yourself and can help you better understand how to develop your inner beauty even more.Filter Out Negative Messages
Don’t let all the hard work you’re doing to redefine your inner beauty go to waste by listening to all of the negative messages that are out there. Again, culture will tell you that you’re not enough, you want to listen to the few countercultural voices that are out there. Here’s an awesome mission statement from Beautycon.com that you might consider making your own:“To challenge traditional beauty standards and redefine what beauty means. We embrace ‘imperfections’ and the nontraditional—both inside and out.”
