COFFEE CONVERSATIONS: You Are More Beautiful Than You Think...NOT.


In the Sunday temple that I go to, we focus heavily on the power of thoughts, that whatever reality we have now is shaped by our thinking.

So why am I saying this? You've probably seen this newest self- love video campaign by Dove that's all the rage in Youtube. The main message is: YOU ARE MORE BEAUTIFUL THAN YOU THINK.

I say no, you are not more beautiful than you think.

Think. Thoughts. Reality.

Discretion: I am not a fan of sugarcoating.


Mirror mirror on the wall...

The way you perceive yourself not only affects the way you handle your life, but it also shapes your reality. If you think you are ugly, you will only attract ugly circumstances, people who constantly judge you or tell you you're not good enough, or jobs and services that rub more salt to the wound. In Theatre, we have this saying that says "You're only as good as your last performance" and if I'm going to tweak it, "You're only as good as your thoughts." 


Screen Shot taken from mathsisfun.com

If you truly, madly, deeply believe that you're not good enough, you're weak, you're ugly, you're fat, then so be it--these are the things that you will only see no matter how people tell you that you're the opposite of these things, or how Dove creates a bajillion similar campaigns. You make your own lunch. Negative plus negative equals negative, positive plus positive equals positive--Honey, don't expect change if you keep on beating the drum of the opposite.

To me, the underlying message of Dove beyond the soothing, comforting YOU ARE MORE BEAUTIFUL THAN YOU THINK tagline is that your words and thoughts are powerful life shapers, so use them wisely. Now that you know it, would you still tell yourself that "I'm too fat" or "I'll never amount to anything" or "I will never be pretty"? 

But I don't want to diss the fact that there are still greater persons than you and I. Some are sexier, smarter, physically more attractive, and so on and so forth, but beauty is defined on different levels- you can be and you are beautiful in your own way--just decide this very moment that you are beautiful, and work your way towards becoming one!

"Change the way you see things and the things you look at will begin to change."

Here's a challenge: Choose one of the negative descriptions I've just written, and say it to yourself for 9 times every day for 21 days. (9 is the number of circulation, 21 is the number of days for the brain to realign itself) Or, replace the negative description with a positive one (e.g. I'm beautiful, I'm great, I'm in my healthiest, sexiest body ever, etc.) then tell me what happens after 21 days. :)

To end this post on a positive note, here's a parody of the Dove ad:

I love discussions. Let's have a healthy discussion on the comments section below. :)

Post a Comment

11 Comments

  1. Wow, what a refreshing perspective and a very straightforward article. I'll try the challenge. It's very interesting :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Interesting perspective... I did see it as how it was us being too critical of our selves... I do love the main campaign of Dove which is "real beauty". I do love how you saw it... I will definitely do your suggestion, its scientifically sound... will let you know how it goes.

    Oh mam how's the review on the krave stuff?

    ReplyDelete
  3. That's a good way to look at it and it is true.

    The beauty of the video is that it encouraged people to change how they see themselves and made people aware of how mean they are to themselves.

    This reminded me of a quote, "whether you think you can, or you think can't, you're probably right"

    For me however, what did the trick was deciding not to label and judge myself whenever I see myself in the mirror. It helped shift my focus.

    ReplyDelete
  4. So I'm not alone thinking that "you are more beautiful than you think" thought should be circulated.

    I also have been watching videos of gossmakeupasrtist in Youtube. And he always have the quote "It's just make up" .. If any of you feeling a little bit down, his channel is a good place to be... ;))

    ReplyDelete
  5. I saw the dove commercial s youtube and kakaiyak siya noh. Ako namn ay iniisip ko ang beauty talaga depende lang s tumitingin. Also ive noticed n as ive aged medyo mas naging confident nko and wala nko masyadong paki s ssabihin ng iba.

    Nice ang point mo mis m. Sabi nga ni palo coelho the whole universe will conspire with u if u think of something and want something bad enough

    ReplyDelete
  6. I personally appreciated the Dove ad's message because I've had bouts of insecurities in the past that made me unnecessarily harsher to myself. Before, especially during the confusing adolescent years, I wasn't good at self-motivation and it was very easy for me to succumb to negativity so learning that others perceived me in a better way than I perceived myself really helped me become more grateful of what I had.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Im on for the challenge! :) after 21 days this will necome a habit...

    ReplyDelete
  8. I believe in what you said. Say it 9 times for 21 days :) Sometimes, even if you are lying but you tell that untruthful story over and over again, you forget the truth already. It is because your brain was realigned na. In the end, the lies you let yourself believed in becomes the truth.
    But of course, let us use this in a positve way :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. No, I believe we are more than what we think. The challenge is to think better, have a more positive thought, be calm and balanced.

    We become what we think and say. If we think it, we believe it...and it will be true. If we think we are lacking in one aspect - whether it be smarts, physically or emotionally, then it will be the reality because we will project it in the way we carry ourselves. We are our harshest critic and we let ourselves be dictated by the media's concept of the norm.

    In Dove's ad, while the superficial message of loving yourself was there, I noticed there were some disparity. There was one colored woman there, most were Caucasian or light skinned. You may ask why I'm bringing this up, you'll see why. It reminds me of my experience at the mall a while ago. I was picking up stuff and doing my business when I was approached twice by SAs offering and pitching their whitening products. Twice I smiled and declined their offer. In my head I was thinking, no thank you, I'm dark skinned and I'm happy with it and I don't feel the need to be white or fair skinned. Which leads me to I can think that way and be confident because I'm older now and hopefully a bit wiser... kahit katiting lang haha. But what about the younger ones who might feel that they're not as good because their skin isn't as light as the girls they see on TV? Because the products at the malls or kiosks push for being whiter and being more fair?

    That's why I browse this blog. Even if I only lurk and rarely leave a post, its refreshing to see a morena blogger in an industry that pushes for whiter skin in our country. I'd understand if they were pushing for even skin tone but I digress.

    My point is we are better than what we think. We are far stronger than what we think. We are more beautiful than what we think. The challenge is to believe that we are.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi girls! Thank you for sharing your insights! :)

    Somilge: Beautiful point. :) Thank you. :)

    Rae: Ah, Tony Robbins: "If you think you can or you can't, you're right." My favorite motivational speaker! :D Thanks for sharing your thoughts. :)

    Eloise: Thank you! Nice quote you just written in there-I love Paulo Coelho. :)

    Katherine: Thank you.Regarding Krave, still road-testing their products. :)

    ReplyDelete

Let me know what you think of this post! :)