Is external beauty so important?

We live in a society where aesthetics are highly promoted. Celebrities, actors and models are almost always Photoshopped in magazines, in order to further perfect their image. And, without realizing it, in this way They make us believe that the most important thing is to have a perfect body. External beauty is becoming synonymous with success.

Why do so many women worry excessively about their physical appearance? We are in a time where the number of people who resort to cosmetic operations increases considerably. We try to present ourselves to others as attractive as possible.. Is it really true that we manage to feel good about ourselves? Or do we do it to please others consciously or unconsciously?

Some, without realizing it, become obsessed with physical appearance. Their entire well-being revolves around whether they look presentable or not. Time passes and they do not accept that, with age, those first wrinkles may appear, that the body is no longer as smooth as in youth, etc.

Outer beauty is not everything

At first, it is the outside that we all focus on. It’s what draws attention. But, in the end, what makes you fall in love with another person or not is a series of aspects of their personality: values, attitudes, personal treatment, attention, etc. However, many people base their happiness on their body alone, trying to make it as “perfect” as possible.

How to accept the passing of the years? How can we stop giving so much importance to aesthetics? It is not easy at all in this era, in which advertisements and the media push us to use image. It is not valued so much the inner essence, the importance of knowing people deeply and not letting ourselves be carried away merely by their physical appearance.

The value of people is always in their essence, in their values, in their way of treating people, in their way of behaving. In all those traits that make up our personality.

If we are able to realize that the most important thing is found inside, We will be able to leave behind that dependency of constantly wanting to please others. To seek compliments, to always want to be beautiful, to get frustrated when we don’t like our appearance or it deteriorates over the years.

How do we know if we depend on our image?

We all have days when we look more physically advantaged than others. Even models and people that we classify as beautiful feel that sometimes they have a bad face. On those days is when we can see if our priority is on our physical appearance or on our internal well-being.

Nobody likes to have a bad image, but people with a penchant for liking, if they look bad, automatically ruin their day.. They are not able to enjoy themselves or socialize normally and frustration with oneself appears. On the other hand, those who have their interior as a priority may feel that they look bad, but they accept it and that does not prevent them from enjoying the day and social relationships at all. His external beauty does not condition him when it comes to interacting with others.

Adolescence: complex stage

Most adolescents give a very high priority to their physique, so that any defect is excessively magnified and they are capable of refusing to leave the house. Furthermore, if they cannot see themselves the way they want, they are excessively self-critical, self-censoring and, consequently, their self-esteem drops. At that stage it seems that almost everything revolves around aesthetics.

This is due, in part, to the fact that at that age they have not yet developed a defined personal identity, so the only reference they have is that of their peers, who, in turn, also give great importance to appearance. abroad.

The physique in adulthood

However, once adolescence has passed and adulthood has entered, this social importance to the physical body may not continue. That is to say, some people do not overcome this dependence on being as presentable as possible. Thus, their self-esteem is built based on their appearance, clothing, accessories… And this, on multiple occasions, causes gaps, conflicts or self-esteem problems.

Therefore, the best thing is to accept yourself as you are, with what you came into the world with. If you want to get an aesthetic touch-up, then perfect! But don’t let your self-esteem depend on it, or on what they will say. The ideal would be to lower aesthetic demands on oneself and increase them in terms of the way of being.

Most people comb their hair every day, dress elegantly, take care of their smell… But do we do the same with our interior? We nourish our skin to make it look beautiful, but do we nourish our soul?

In the end, what brings the most happiness is well-developed emotional and mental health. A stable identity, with appropriate values.

Connect with your inner essence

Clinging to external beauty is clinging to a passing, outdated and subjective concept. The body will not always be to our liking, since it does not depend on us. When we connect with our inner essence, we begin to fill an existential void. This filling makes us look for happiness outside of ourselves, which is reflected in a lower need for external approval.

Would you care so much about your appearance on a desert island? A place where no one sees you, where no one passes judgment on your appearance, would you really dress up so much? This question makes us think to what extent we believe we are grooming ourselves, when in reality we are doing it to please and feel accepted and approved by others.

What is beauty?

A very interesting debate that could take us hours and hours is the concept of “beauty.” Why does something seem beautiful to us? Is something beautiful in Spain considered equally beautiful in New Zealand? Is something beautiful in the 4th century still beautiful in the 21st century? An interesting question, without a doubt, is to delve deeper into this concept and see if something beautiful today will really be beautiful in a few years. With this we can reach the conclusion that Beauty has a social component and is subjective.

It has been years since piercings and tattoos were not exactly synonymous with attractiveness or external beauty. However, today the concept has changed. Beauty standards change over time and we must be aware that what is considered beauty today may not be so tomorrow. This is important so that we do not become obsessed with our image or cling to passing fashions, because otherwise we will always be slaves to them.

In a very interesting article by David Konstan (2012) he reviews the concept of beauty, its relationship with the world of art and the term beauty itself depending on the language we use. In order not to spoil the article, I will let the reader immerse themselves in it and draw their own conclusions from it.

The physique attracts, but the personality falls in love.

“The essential is invisible to the eyes” – The Little Prince

Image courtesy of Alba Soler