How often do we neglect to treat our own faces with the kindness we would extend to friends, family, and even strangers? At the same time, there are reasons why we care about what others think we look like: people judge each other by how they look—it’s a first response. This video from the The School of Life offers wisdom for being comfortable in your own skin. For instance, personal appearance is a lottery that most people cannot win. It has nothing to do with you, nor is it to the beautiful person’s credit either. Also, you can let your disappointment at what you don’t have—beautiful, thick hair, the perfect pair of ears—fuel your appreciation of beauty around you. Instead of saying appearance doesn’t matter, we can start to get interested in seeing beauty in new places—in a kind chin, for instance.
Dealing with that onslaught of negative internal commentary (“My nose is too big/too small.” “I wish I had more hair/less hair!”) can actually help us be more compassionate overall. Try this mindfulness practice from Mindful magazine: “5 Steps to a Better Relationships with Yourself.”