Mini Disruptions #1 - Your appearance is not the currency of your worth
Listen in new window HERE Listen and Subscribe on Spotify / ITunes
Duration: 9 min
I am trying something new today on the podcast.
I am sharing my first episode in what I am going to call my "mini disruptions" (I may change this, haha!) I will use them to dive in deeper on a certain topic, thought or idea that has been percolating in my brain. So, here goes the first one on the idea that "your appearance is not the currency of your worth".
In a society that values beauty, youth and thinness. There’s really only a few who get to benefit from it. And even if you do, it’s still fleeting. So we get stuck in a never ending pursuit of chasing flawless skin, a thinner body or hiding the natural aging process by any means necessary. Even if it makes you miserable and unhappy.
You think that it’s the price of admission to acceptance, validation or self-worth.
So many base their self worth on:
- The size of their body
- Lack of stomach
- Beauty trends like bushy eyebrows or eyelashes (I remember when everyone was plucking their eyebrows)
- How much little hair there is on their chin or upper lip
- How long they can hold the wrinkles at bay - women spend hours and $$$ on products that promise to reverse the aging process
- How agreeable you can be
- How little you rock the boat
- How much your outfits look “up to date”
Now if any of the above bring you happiness and joy...then by all means continue! We need more joy in our lives. But NONE of the above make you a more valuable or worthy human being.
The belief that any of the above is going to make you a better person, leads so many to punish, hate, devalue and shame themselves for letting their body naturally change, for having wrinkles, for going grey or for not looking anything like the latest beauty trends. Yes. They are trends and they will change again.
However, our bodies and appearance are always in a state of flux. It changes as we age, have challenges with our mental or physical health, have children, have seasons of our life when we focus on our careers or family, or go through menopause, etc… If there is ONE guarantee in our life, it’s that our appearance will change. It’s inevitable.
So, you can continue to chase society’s beauty ideals and buy into the belief that your appearance = your worth.
But I challenge you to consider the notion that your appearance is not the currency of your worth.
How much joy and happiness have we withheld because of how others may or may not perceive us? About our appearance or on a deeper level, about who we are as a person.
We get more focused on what we look like in a picture or standing on a stage, rather than focusing on the joy of the moment captured or the impactful message we share on stage.
We stop playing sports because we might make a mistake for all to see or not look feminine enough in the middle of a rugby scrum.
We stop speaking up because we might be perceived as angry, vindictive, a bitch or too opinionated.
We stop wearing clothes we love because we are too afraid that our clothes might appear “too young”, out of date or show that we have a belly.
So, ask yourself the next time you get the urge to shrink, hide, spend time and money on the latest diet or botox….
What is the cost of your appearance having on your life?
For updated news, follow me here -> IG: @womendisruptedpodcast
