Beauty Without and Within

Tuesday night, I spoke to a lovely group of ladies on my blog theme,

Beauty Without Within.

Following are some of the things I shared with them.

Are you familiar with the term, “Thin-slicing?”  It is a relatively new term, meaning when we take a mental snapshot of someone and guess their competence, confidence, and likability in less than a second.  Researchers think this is a survival mechanism that we have developed to decide very quickly if someone is friend or foe.

First Impressions are powerful, and we make them unconsciously.  In fact, studies have proven that it takes a mere one tenth of a second to make a judgement and less than two seconds to make an in-depth and long lasting impression about a person.

Apparently the brain creates a composite of all the components or details of a person’s image or persona and turns the components into an overall first impression.  In other words, we may not recall the specific details of someone we see, but are left with an overall impression.

Image consultant Emily Cho said this, “In most cases, people make the vital decision about a stranger in less time than it takes to blink an eyelash.  If you squander that one moment, you will have to work awfully hard for the next one.” 

Someone else said, “It is impossible to make a 2^nd 1^st impression.”

So, what determines making a good first impression?

I shared with them three categories that studies show make up the perception or impression one makes of another.

1.  Physical Characteristics

2.  Psychological Health

3.  Personal Appearance

It may not seem fair to pass judgement on someone at first sight, and yet our brains are conditioned to make such split second impressions.

Yes, all of these are components that create a composite of who we present ourselves to be and based on someone else's prejudices who we are perceived to be.  I shared with them some specifics on how to project ourselves as being healthy physically, psychologically/spiritually, and with our appearance.

I ended with this.

Real beauty is reflected in one's soul, not only depending on appearance.  A beautiful woman is a diamond but a truthful, honest, trustworthy woman is a treasure.

True beauty is a gift from God to human beings.  God is fair because He gives everyone their own unique beauty.  Instead of feeling we were left out in some respect, instead embrace your personal beauty and be happy.

Look for these things in others.  I think we can retrain our minds to see the best in someone we meet and not be eager to judge whether a person is beautiful or not without a thorough understanding of them.

I pray that we as women will become more aware of the beauty without and within those with whom we come in contact.  But even more that those who see us will see God's reflected beauty from within as well.