“Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder”
I stood next to a gorgeous woman in the gym’s dressing room this morning: Beautiful body, amazing long and shiny hair, lovely eyes and the sexiest dress I’ve seen in a long time at 11 am. So being a person who believes people, and women in particular, should support and compliment each other wherever possible, I turn around and say: “You look really amazing, you know that?!”, thinking that of course this woman knows, but it can’t possibly hurt her to hear it again.
But contrary to my expectation, miss Vamp looks at me and says: “Really?… Well…”, and frowns like I just told her most men in Dubai ARE actually decent (a sure lie, for those who didn’t get it…). “Yes, really!” I say, raising my voice to my own surprise, clearly pissed by yet another stunning woman who doesn’t seem to know her own true worth.
Sadly, 9 out of 10 women I speak to react exactly that same way when I tell them they’re beautiful, smart, nice, good company, well-dressed or anything else which slightly resembles the positive. When I ask my female friends or clients what they tell themselves when they look in the mirror, most answers are far away from the constructive and supporting comments we deserve to hear.
A recent study about mirror habits conducted amongst 2000 British women reveals that “While constant checking of their looks might seem vain or self-indulgent, it’s actually not something that makes women feel good about themselves nor does it boost their confidence. Seventy-five percent claimed to “hate” looking in the mirror, with 39 percent admitting that doing so made them feel negative about themselves.”
Sad, but true. It makes me wonder… Where did we learn to give ourselves so much sh*t on a daily basis? And more importantly, why do we believe we are not worthy enough to hear how beautiful we are, as well as simply KNOWING it.
Therefore, today’s important question: What do you tell yourself when you look in the mirror? And why?
Please leave a comment below, or share on my Facebook page by commenting or posting.
I’d be delighted to hear from you, both the positive and the negative. And men… you are also welcome to join the discussion 😉
More on this subject soon to come!
Photography credits go to Pia Torelli from Pia Torelli Photography, www.piatorelli.com
UAE'S LEADING YOGA TEACHER AND HOLISTIC COACH 