By Nadia Muthoni
As I internalize the quote: “Beauty isn’t a look, it’s a feeling,” as a millennial, this maxim is very much a part of us. In this generation where beauty is a prominent global conversation, this axiom could not be truer.
Although many women believe that beauty is to a larger extent quantifiable by size and shape, conversations today revolve around beauty being inside-out. Sentiments like, be your authentic self, do not compare yourself to another, feature in many conversations. The intent is to encourage you to stand in your own power and love yourself.
It is therefore unfortunate that we still strive to reach the unrealistic standard of what the world has defined beauty to be. Psychologists will tell you that beauty is health, philosophers will say it is good and poets speak of it as truth; truth beauty.
Feeling truly beautiful in your own skin is a feat easier said than done. With all the focus society places on what beauty is, it’s no wonder, many women find it a challenge to recognize their beauty inside-out.
The key to being beautiful is confidence or at least being on the path towards acquiring it. I’m not sure anyone ever actually achieves a 100% of confidence. It then makes it hard to be confident if you don’t feel beautiful. The question then would be; does beauty really lie in confidence?
If only women would shift focus from the outward beauty which they already have power over and reflect on other things that make them feel good about themselves, then we will arrive at it. We should hold ourselves to a reasonable standard, just like we do for others. We need to stop listening to the impossible standards we place on our appearances and instead, turn our focus internally.
Stop putting yourself down, and start seeing the beauty in your perceived flaws. Ditch those false beauty standards, and create new ones that mean something to you, for you deserve to see yourself the way you truly are. While at it, we should not forget to work on the inside for appearances aren’t everything. Character, values, skills – these are attributes one must seek to acquire or develop.
Let your inner beauty outshine your outward appearance, for it is the beauty inside that never fades, while the beauty outside wrinkles and diminishes. “A vibrant inner life is far more powerful than a busy outer one… ~David Romanelli
