Don’t Hate What You Are Because What You Are: Is Beautiful
Don’t believe what others see in you, choose to believe only what you see in yourself.
It’s no wonder that people, women especially, have self-image issues. I read an article today on Psycholigy.com[1] while doing my research for this article. The authors’ message just makes the water cloudier concerning the subject.
In her opinion, telling someone that “You Are Beautiful” prompts a “No, I’m not” response more often than not. She says that people with body image issues who are told they are beautiful create a counter message and draws their attention to how they look.
Personally, I believe that this is the wrong message to be sending anyone, especially someone with body image issue. Because we are ALL beautiful. Learning to look past the exterior and seeing yourself for who you are instead of what you are is the key.
Most of our media images we associate with “beauty” are from the east or west coasts. Areas where the substance of a person isn’t a priority. Growing up in Los Angeles with what we lovingly called the “plastic” crowd, we saw perfectly beautiful men and women change their bodies and appearances in order to fit someone else’s idea of how they should look.
This did not make them happy inside.
It’s my opinion, and maybe I am alone in this, that what’s profoundly important is what’s on the inside that radiates outward that makes for genuine beauty. We live in a society today that tells us not to see each other as people, but see each other as things. This is where we lose our humanity. We become superficial and dishonor each other and ourselves.
The Free Dictionary.com defined beautiful as:[2]
beautiful
- Having qualities that delight or appeal to the senses and often the mind.
- Excellent; wonderful:
What I love about this definition is that there is no mention of the superficial exterior but the “senses and often the mind”. When we stop seeing ourselves and people as things and start seeing ourselves and people as people, we can finally see the beauty within ourselves and in others.
I have two sayings I use rather often:
When asked what I don’t like, my immediate response is “ugly people, and that has nothing to do with looks”. We all know them, the judgmental, superficial, just want to talk about me people. I do my best to avoid them.
And second, “you are Beautiful, and you look good also”. I do my best to remind people I noticed their genuine beauty and did not focus, or not focus, on their exterior beauty.
I live by two rules in life that I would like to share with you all that I think will help if you have personal body image issues.
#1. No Regrets
I live my life fully, on my own terms, not someone else’s. I think about everything I do BEFORE I do them, then own it. Fully commit to it and own it.
#2. Your opinion of me is NONE of my business.
People may believe whatever they want about me, and that is perfectly fine with me. I also have the right to not believe them.
You are Beautiful because you are you. You are Amazing because you are you. You are Unique because you are you. You were born of an Amazing Universal Power that makes no mistakes. When we listen to those who don’t matter, and even those who might, when they throw the negatives towards us, and choose to believe them is when our beauty fades.
We need reminders, sometimes often, that we can be beautiful if only we adjust our understanding of what genuine beauty is.
Beauty is seeing someone hurting and helping.
Beauty is seeing something unfair and fighting to help make it right.
Beauty is sharing a sunrise or a sunset or an evening sky full of stars with another who can’t see and explaining it.
Beauty is visiting the sick just to make them happy.
Beauty is selflessness.
Beauty, real beauty, has NOTHING to do with your body and EVERYTHING to do with your heart.
So, Don’t Hate What You Are Because What You Are: Is Beautiful
You might also like this: BOUNDARIES: WHAT WE DO NOT TOLERATE CANNOT HURT US
If you have enjoyed this article, please visit me at www.JosephBinning.com for more helpful tips and articles.
You can also get more helpful information in my book You Matter, even if you don’t think so which you can purchase on Amazon here Amazon You Matter, even if you don’t think so
For my free report Happiness Is A Choice click here: Happiness Is A Choice Free Report
Remember: Happiness is a choice, so be happy.
[1]Stop Saying “You Are Beautiful”/ Renee Engeln Ph.D./PsychologyToday.com/accessed 12/08/2020/https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/beauty-sick/201710/stop-saying-you-are-beautiful
[2] Beautiful/TeFreeDictonary.com/accessed 12/08/2020/https://www.thefreedictionary.com/beautiful
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