They say “beauty is in the eyes of the beholder”.
Now, this saying might sound clichéd, but it’s quite true. We often see and perceive ourselves as more attractive than we actually are! We accept the best versions of ourselves which is why most people truly believe that an attractively enhanced picture is their own. Inflated perceptions of one’s physical appearance is a manifestation of general phenomenon psychologists call self-enhancement. The question that lies before us all is why do we have such self-enhanced views of ourselves? The answer is simple.
Self-Enhancement: How Psychology Connects Brain And Beauty
Its the adaptive nature of the self-enhancement technique that boosts our confidence and reduces the cognitively taxing representation of one’s appearance. The perception of having desirable characteristics makes you believe that you can promote yourself without having to lie. Confident people are often believed more and their advice is more likely to be followed by others. Everything you do shapes how you feel. Therefore, what you feel is actually how you look. And also, how you think is how you feel. It’s about keeping all areas of the loop flowing.
For example, when someone pays you a compliment and says you look really beautiful today, you actually start to feel more beautiful. The environment has a lot to do with the feedback you get from your surroundings: home, work, relationships, and friendships. The more beautiful you feel you are, the more you would like to maintain that feel-good state. So, you start to look after yourself, by exercising, eating better or paying attention to your skincare and make-up. When one area is not working, it can also set up a cycle of negativity.
There is no effective way to quantify beauty.
Hence, there is no way to evaluate your own beauty. What people consider beautiful changes over time, across cultures, and between individuals. Someone that is very narcissistic could see themselves as more attractive than they are, but it is much more common for people to have self-image problems and see themselves as less attractive than they really are. That is why problems like eating disorders, steroid usages exist. Thinking that you are more beautiful than you really are may not be such a bad thing. When you look in the mirror, you are simply judging yourself on how you look. All you can see is your reflection – but none of the personality. ‘A great body, lustrous hair and beautiful skin may turn heads and but it takes a lot more than that to be attractive’.
‘Beauty is also about the way you move, speak and express yourself. It’s about good health, warmth, spontaneity, and charisma.’