I was on Facebook the other day, along with a billion other peeps, and came across a video that really struck me. Although it came from a big corporation trying to make a soft sell of their product Dove soap, it had a really interesting experiment which showed the huge difference between how people perceive us and how we perceive ourselves.
In the video the makers of Dove hired an artist to sketch peoples faces, but never looked at the people. All they would do is describe themselves to him behind a curtain. Then other random people would meet that person and go sit down with the anonymous artist and describe what they thought the person looked like. So in the end their were two sketched perspectives, one from the actual person and one from someone they just met. Can you guess which one looked happier, healthier and more beautiful? Check out the video below.
So how do you perceive yourself?
To answer this question I think its valuable to look at why so many people devalue who they are and what they look like to the public. Its a two word phrase called “Self Love.” If we don’t love ourselves chances are we are simply out of practice in how to love ourselves. The real kicker here and the major challenge is that if we don’t choose to practice self love, by default society will choose something else for us and that typically is “Self Loathing.”
This can be seen simply by thumbing through a magazine or turning on the the television and seeing what society is comparing you to… super models, perfect bodies, super wealthy, famous, etc. All this stuff just makes us feel lowly and incapable of rising up so we just say I’m not good enough. Its pumped into our minds since day one and the only way its leaving is to pump your mind with something else.
Regaining Self Love
There are many things you can do to show your love for yourself. I’m just going to list three things below so as not to overwhelm people. If you want to add others please feel free to make a comment below.
- Take care of yourself physically with healthy, organic, mostly raw food and daily exercise that is balanced between strength, endurance and flexibility. So instead of just being a runner, try running and doing yoga, etc.
- Look in your mirror when you get up in the morning and say “I love you, you’re the best.” May sound corny but after a while you’ll start believing it and so will others.
- If you’re not already creating something artistic, begin. We are creation machines and if you aren’t creating something chances are you won’t feel so hot about yourself.
How do you express self love? comment below>>>
Lots of love, Chad
very revealing about our self image.
I look in the mirror and sometimes see how heavy and old I’m getting. But most of the time I am pretty comfortable with myself and think I look pretty good, especially when I feel good and healthy.
To me feeling good about yourself means liking what you are doing with your life, including meaningful relationships with family and others. Contributing to the happiness and experience of others adds to your self value.
It’s not about superficially trying to look younger or better looking.
I think people look their best when they laugh and are content with their life.
good point pops, we must also remember that whats going on inside is reflected outside both physically and mentally. so the body does matter, its our temple, lest we take care of it, it won’t take care of us.