Rebecca
Self-love is a concept we often hear about these days, and it’s a good movement to support. However, there are some parts of ourself that seem to be harder to love than others. When you see someone plus-sized and owning it, you tell yourself you can love your body too. Then you turn to social media and see all the barefaced beauties who seem to have no pores or blemish, and you criticize your own skin for every little detail.
If everything you see is perfect even if they claim to be real and flawed, will you ever be satisfied with your own skin?
The Human Tendency to Compare
When you see someone else’s social media, you compare your life to them even without realizing it. We live in a world that’s so heavily edited and publicized, sometimes you forget that behind those perfect profiles are real people too. You may not see their struggles, but they’re there. You may only see their perfect makeup looks, not knowing you buy moisturizer online from the same shop. It’s in the carefully curated posts that you compare yourself, which is unfair to you. The sooner you realize this and treat yourself better, the easier it will be to love your flaws.
The Neverending Need for More
Once upon a time, you had everything you needed. Your parents provided your basic needs and you saved up for the most important item you want to buy. Now that you’re older and earning money for yourself, you start to think about more. Your gadgets always need to be updated to the latest flagship. Your clothes always need to follow trends. You see your friends traveling, so you make plans too. What you see in others and what society dictates, you follow. This leads to a constant need to be part of the cool ones, and the temporary happiness you feel doesn’t help either. When you try to hold back, you feel sad and pity your situation even if it’s not that bad.
The External Sources of Happiness
One of the reasons it’s hard to feel happy about yourself is because you’re looking for approval elsewhere. The skin you have right now looks good, but because you don’t get comments saying you’re beautiful, you think you look worse. Turn this around and be the first person to say the compliment in front of the mirror. You’ll find it easier to go about your day when you’re not hung up on how you look. When you’re moving around and having fun, this brings a natural glow to your skin; on the contrary, when you’re sulking and scowling, this only makes your skin look worse.
In the end, your actions and thoughts contribute greatly to your skin and how you see it. If you can find contentment in your current life, you’ll be able to love your skin just the way it is too. However, if you’re always looking for more, it becomes second-nature to think your skin is missing that glow, leading you to spiral into neverending self-doubt.
