Looking good is all about feeling good about ourselves. This may be common knowledge already. But we can’t deny that we still have the tendency to forget it. We sometimes think that it’s for the purpose of looking good for other people. Every swipe of lipstick, purchase of designer clothing, and grueling workout session is for other people.
But looking good shouldn’t be like that. It’s not about calling the attention of other people. And that it’s never for the purpose of making them feel envious. It should be for our own benefit. And it should lead to feelings of confidence and self-love.
With the start of the new year this 2021, we should start reminding ourselves again of the importance of feeling good about ourselves. 2020 has been a year full of struggle. It challenged our patience, strength, and resilience. But we can strengthen such things again this 2021. And we can do so by making ourselves look good and feel good.
Long-term Investments in Self-care
As much as we want to deny it or ignore it, many people look down upon those who spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on aesthetic medicine. They would judge people for feeling the need to go to a medical doctor to remove excess fat, unwanted hair, or remove moles and wrinkles. They feel that such expenses are excessive. But what these people don’t understand is that such operations are more than just looking younger and more physically appealing. It’s about instilling confidence in ourselves.
So if you feel that you have too much hair on your arms, legs, or even on your face, you can get a laser hair removal treatment. It’s definitely pricier than getting a razor and shaving cream. But it’s an investment in yourself. And that feeling of investing in something comes with satisfaction. It would make you feel good.
Appreciation for Food
People who are very conscious of how their bodies look have a very difficult relationship with food. Because we spent our childhoods and adulthoods seeing these men and women in very slim bodies, we started believing that that’s the standard. It’s the type of body that we should achieve in order to look good.
So we started cutting down on what we eat. We avoided foods with high sugar, fatty, and sodium contents. Greens, fruits, and other foods that have high vitamins and minerals were the only things that we ate.
And that’s not a bad thing. Not at all. But we have to remember the purpose behind eating such foods. Are we doing it to achieve a body that’s slim? Or are we doing it because it’s healthy and it’s what our body needs?
If we focus too much on trying to achieve a standard, we would lose sight of feeling good. So we have to improve our relationship with food. We have to understand the importance of recognizing what our bodies need and not what we want our bodies to become.
Exercise for the Body and Mind
Another common issue with exercising is that many of us do it to look good. And that’s not a problem, not really. But, similar to being too conscious of what we eat, we also tend to exercise to achieve a certain standard for our bodies.
But that shouldn’t be the case. Exercising is one of the best ways to achieve stable and balanced mental health. And if we’re exhausting ourselves with exercising to achieve some standard for our bodies, then we’re causing more stress. So we have to remind ourselves that exercising is something that should be done for our own benefit. We should be doing it because our bodies need it and that it makes us happy. Exercising, then, can become our regular me-time.
Another way to spend some me-time on a regular basis is, of course, calming our minds. Journaling is a great way for that. We can sit down for a few minutes and just jot down our thoughts. We can release some anger and frustration. We can remind ourselves of the things that we’re grateful for. The important thing is that, in a way, we’re also exercising our minds by journaling. And that, in turn, would help make us feel good.
We don’t know yet if 2021 would be more or less challenging than 2020. But what we can do is to make sure that we’re more ready to face such challenges with a calm and collected mind. We can make sure that we can overcome stress and anxiety. Feeling good about ourselves is a great way to do that. And that, in turn, can be caused by looking good.
