Seeing as it is Sunday, I hope I can be forgiven for writing a more wordy post on a topic that’s been on my mind for a while now; the power of inner beauty. I know this sounds a little trite, and that we all know that of course beauty comes from within, but when it comes down to it a lot of us (myself included) we get caught up in the latest skincare/hair care/lipstick to try and make us more beautiful from the outside, but day to day don’t really focus on what makes us beautiful from the inside, that’s because everyone is leading a fast paced life – social media, work, socialising, maintaining relationships all take precedence over truly looking at ourselves in the mirror and deciphering whether a new lipstick or nail polish will truly make us happy, or whether taking a look a little deeper to improve our inner beauty so that we are more appealing and attractive and nicer to be around to others will actually make us happier in the long term.
This post is inspired by Taylor Swift, she is not what first got me thinking about this post though, but after seeing her live last night in Hyde Park I left in absolute awe – the key to her success isn’t shaking her booty in hot pants whilst stinging controversial lyrics about sex and drugs but by making each and every one of the 65,000 strong audience feel as though they wanted to be her best friend. She was genuine, heart felt and a true girls’ girl, everything came from the heart and not from the brains of a record labels/PR executives/managers etc. And that is what makes her voice 100 times more beautiful and her outward appearance (which lets face it is absolutely stunning) even more appealing.
We can all lose our tempers, get fed up, be prone to gossiping and bitching and putting other women down, but that only chips away at our inner beauty and even if that isn’t detectable to others it sure is to yourself. If putting someone else down makes you “feel better” about yourself you are in denial, it will only make you feel more insecure and then prone to more bitching to try and make yourself feel better again – a vicious cycle.
This week in order to improve my inner beauty I’ll be taking time to take deep breaths when I feel impatient or agitated (road rage, slow internet) I’ll watch every eye roll and minimise them until I’m down to zero, and I’ll be making an effort to listen a lot more to others and their problems without interrupting or jumping in with my own opinions. Small things can make all the difference, and it makes buying that new lipstick or hair mask that much more enjoyable as you’ve built from within out. Call me cheesy all you like, but hopefully some of this will ring true with some of you!
Happy Sunday!
Great post Tijan! I wouldn’t mind more lenghty posts from time to time. Have a nice sunday!
A really thoughtful post, sometimes I get caught up in thinking buying more make up etc will make me happy but it’s not really the case!
“Putting someone else down makes you “feel better” about yourself you are in denial, it will only make you feel more insecure and then prone to more bitching to try and make yourself feel better again – a vicious cycle”. How true Tijan, whenever I notice myself feeling a little critical of other women I have to check myself and ask why that is, and it’s oftentimes because of insecurity. I have a friend who’ll go up to complete strangers and complement them on their hair, smile, shoes etc. and I admire that because it’s so much harder to look for the good in other women when we’re caught up in our insecurities.
I always attempt to do the same! If I see someone looking amazing I’ll try and tell them! Glad you enjoyed the post Hafsa, I hope allis well with you xx
A very lovely post Tijan, great morning ready to inspire you for the day x