My morning routine is basic and foolproof. I wake up and promptly turn off my ridiculously loud alarm, and then I drag myself out of bed to begin my day.
Because I was not blessed with perfect vision, I normally head straight for my bathroom, where I can temporarily cure my blindness with contact lenses. Once I can see, I take a good look at myself in the mirror which, like most, is normally immediately overwhelmed with negative reactions to my physical appearance. Whether it is something temporary like an unattractive blemish or something more permanent such as the shape of my nose, the response is still more negative than I’d like.
Though I cannot speak for more than just myself, I have noticed that I am not alone in the ever-present personal struggle that mirrors and cameras often bring to our lives.
Typically after a group photo is taken, everyone has to review the photo, and then pick apart all the silly imperfections that they notice about themselves. Due to this intense screening process, I am not sure how pictures ever end up on the Internet because no one is ever satisfied. Everyone will always jump to their insecurities before praising their beauty because that is just how our minds work.
However, Dove is trying to change this mentality. Over the last few years Dove has been known as the company that praises the natural look, often creating marketing campaigns with the average woman of all different shapes and sizes. Just this week, Dove has brought this topic up yet again with their newest ad campaign, which tells women that they are more beautiful than they think.
In the video, it shows an FBI-trained forensic artist draw a myriad of average women. The artist cannot see the women, but in order to get a good idea of what they look like, he asks each lady a series of questions about her physical appearance to complete the sketch. After he finishes the drawing, the women can go on with their day. The forensic artist is not so lucky, he has to do another drawing, except this time he redraws the previous woman but from the perspective of strangers that had interacted with her throughout the day.
At the end of the video, the artist shows both of the drawings to the women and it is shocking how astonishingly different the two illustrations could be. Many of the women quickly realize that their overcritical mind sees an image that is incredibly different than what everyone else sees. They realize that they are more beautiful than they think that they are, which is the tagline of the ad campaign.
It is incredibly easy to pick out your own personal flaws, whether they may be physical, mental or emotional. It is human nature to look at what you’d like to improve about yourself, but the true test is to avoid the pessimism and look at the positive things that you exude. There are a lot of physical attributes that you might not have a lot of control over, however you do have control over your mentality. Confidence speaks louder than anything else you can display. It may go against the norm to think in such a positive fashion but who knows, you may just discover that you have a lot more to offer than you give yourself credit
