Inner beauty vs. outward appearances

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  • Mustang_Susie
    Mustang_Susie Posts: 7,045 Member
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    It depends on my day! haha...

    It all boils down to first physical impression and attraction but sometimes you run across someone who isnt all that physically attractive but super smart, funny, charismatic, attentive, sweet and loyal who can become super attractive as time passes.
    It's all in the eye of the beholder.

    Nice :smile:
  • Mustang_Susie
    Mustang_Susie Posts: 7,045 Member
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    You become friends with somebody who's inner beauty you appreciate
    You lust after somebody who's outward appearances you like
    You love somebody who you appreciate inside and out.

    So true :smile:
  • vikkistarr89
    vikkistarr89 Posts: 122 Member
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    My appearance is major right now because i am outwardly confident and a bit extrovert and happy with my character but i despise how i look.

    With partners, you can have one without the other, you need to be physically attracted to them but they should be slightly deeper than a muddy puddle at least
  • InnerConflict
    InnerConflict Posts: 1,592 Member
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    I know I am a bit shallow, but I only like the brown M&Ms.

    brown_mm_10703016.jpg
  • Mustang_Susie
    Mustang_Susie Posts: 7,045 Member
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    My appearance is major right now because i am outwardly confident and a bit extrovert and happy with my character but i despise how i look.

    With partners, you can have one without the other, you need to be physically attracted to them but they should be slightly deeper than a muddy puddle at least

    Ha! :laugh:
  • spirytwynd
    spirytwynd Posts: 141 Member
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    What is on the inside is way more important that what is on the outside. That said, I want the outside to reflect the excellence, dedication and commitment I have on the inside. Hmmmm, call it an application of discipline. :-)
  • silvergurl518
    silvergurl518 Posts: 4,123 Member
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    You become friends with somebody who's inner beauty you appreciate
    You lust after somebody who's outward appearances you like
    You love somebody who you appreciate inside and out.

    aw, taunto. you surprise me sometimes :)

    inner beauty radiates. building up my self-esteem and focusing on who i am, not what i look like, is ultimately most important to me. however, self-esteem has a lot to do with how one feels about her/his EVERYTHING, including looks. i am working on becoming the best me i can be: strong, fit, healthy, and beautiful.

    i look for character/personality/"soul" in someone else...but i won't lie to you, looks matter (although everyone's version of attractive is different, thank god--or we'd all be competing for the same person). love this question. makes you think.
  • Pookylou
    Pookylou Posts: 988 Member
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    What's more important to you?
    How you look or your character?

    What's more important to you in another person?

    I would like to say that I'm more concerned about my character than my looks but I cannot tell a lie.

    I do notice how other people look, but I know it's their character that will determine the depth of relationship I can/will have with them.

    So, knowing that about myself, I would assume it would be the same for others.

    I need to be beautiful on the inside :smile:

    Very interesting question, currently I would have to say my looks - I have gotten to a point where I am very happy/comfortable with myself internally (though there are of course things I could work on!!) I am trying to focus on my body and making it better. Both through exercise and caring for it. For the first time I care about my hair and make up - 'cause I like my body for once :laugh:

    For my relationships - character, obvs you have to have that initial attraction, but it is the character that keeps you going through the years after the beauty has faded!
  • spirytwynd
    spirytwynd Posts: 141 Member
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    I will add that I am still working on the inside as well. I am a work in progress. As Granddad used to say, "When you stop growing (or learning), you start dying."
  • tinak33
    tinak33 Posts: 9,883 Member
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    You become friends with somebody who's inner beauty you appreciate
    You lust after somebody who's outward appearances you like
    You love somebody who you appreciate inside and out.

    aw, taunto. you surprise me sometimes :)

    inner beauty radiates. building up my self-esteem and focusing on who i am, not what i look like, is ultimately most important to me. however, self-esteem has a lot to do with how one feels about her/his EVERYTHING, including looks. i am working on becoming the best me i can be: strong, fit, healthy, and beautiful.

    i look for character/personality/"soul" in someone else...but i won't lie to you, looks matter (although everyone's version of attractive is different, thank god--or we'd all be competing for the same person). love this question. makes you think.


    ^^^ All that. :drinker:

    For my self, I am pretty happy with who I am, but I know I can improve on my health and appearance. So I am working on that. And the more I work on my appearance and health, the better I feel about myself and the more I build up my character. It's like a win win all around! :bigsmile:
  • mank32
    mank32 Posts: 1,323 Member
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    once i started feeling better about myself internally, i guess i started acting better because i started getting noticed for my external appearance WAY more. nothing really changed about my appearance, just the way i carry myself. so the inner has influenced the outer in a measurably positive way.

    conversely, getting noticed for the external has had a bit of an effect on me internally, although not nearly as much.

    mostly i just want to feel so good about myself internally that it does not matter how i think i look externally. like, if i didn't even think about how i look at all, that would be awesome. i think it's attainable: i just have to make all the awesomest choices in terms of eating, exercise, attitude, lifestyle in general, etc. and things will line up inside and out.

    i do like to look awesome, but i don't get too hung up on it. i'd much rather feel awesome about myself. i enjoy it when others think i look awesome, but i'd much rather be appreciated for internal awesomeness. i'm pretty comfortable with myself inside and out, within the context of understanding that i will always strive to improve myself...
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,695 Member
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    She can have inner beauty and great character, but if she can't make a sammich............................


    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • kennethmgreen
    kennethmgreen Posts: 1,759 Member
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    It's funny to think of character and beauty in mutually exclusive ideas. I think the two concepts are intertwined more than we'd like. The "ugly person with a heart of gold" mythology is born from our idea of justice and fair play, as is the "beautiful person who is heartless" or even the "beautiful prince/princess who must learn character through some challenge later in life." We want stuff to even out.

    It's likely someone who is physically ugly had to deal with more challenges that those more attractive, and somehow developed a deeper sense of inner beauty. It's also likely that same person became a bitter recluse, never developing any character at all. And whose only meaning is derived from waxing philosophical on fitness forums.

    I used to think the idea of women radiating during pregnancy was bunk sold to the masses to increase Hallmark card sales. Until I watched two co-workers at a school I worked at years ago noticeably change. Two different women, two different times - I asked them if they got their hair cut, new glasses, etc. I stopped short of exclaiming "you look more beautiful than I remember seeing you" because that would be kinda creepy, and weird in front of a bunch of six-year-olds. I found out later both women were pregnant and were really happy about it.

    I know there are hormonal changes that go on with pregnancy, and there are physical, biological things going on (lots of crazy stuff too) that could be attributed to the change. But I believe a lot of the beauty I saw was contentment, hope, joy, excitement of being a mom - especially a first-time mom. Those inward emotions had a physical affect on the outward appearance.

    My point? Ladies, go get knocked up to look hotter.

    My serious point is that character contributes to beauty. And I think the idea of pitting inward vs. outward beauty against each other (or a necessary trade-off) is counterproductive. Confidence, kindness, patience, a love and appreciation of self - these are character traits - "inner beauty" that contribute to "outer beauty" in ways that make-up, nice clothes and boob jobs can't. And I'm not saying that make-up, nice clothes and boob jobs can't contribute to beauty. I'm simply saying that as there are a multitude of ways to define beauty, there are a multitude of ways to achieve it.
  • imchicbad
    imchicbad Posts: 1,650 Member
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    I take what I want, use what I need, and keep what I find.
  • wolfpack77
    wolfpack77 Posts: 655
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    I take what I want, use what I need, and keep what I find.

    Ahh, a fellow psychopath. Hows it going? :bigsmile:
  • kddarrow
    kddarrow Posts: 24
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    I'm pretty sure there's a lot more to life than being really, really, ridiculously good looking. And I plan on finding out what that is.


    Ha!!! Best reply so far.....Looovveeee it!!!!:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    i agree with a lot of the posts, but who actually chats up ugly people on the basis that they might have a really good personality!?
  • harvo
    harvo Posts: 4,676 Member
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    My Grandpa used to tell me "Beauty is skin deep...but ugly is to the bone!"
  • Junken_Diraffe
    Junken_Diraffe Posts: 716 Member
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    It's funny to think of character and beauty in mutually exclusive ideas. I think the two concepts are intertwined more than we'd like. The "ugly person with a heart of gold" mythology is born from our idea of justice and fair play, as is the "beautiful person who is heartless" or even the "beautiful prince/princess who must learn character through some challenge later in life." We want stuff to even out.

    It's likely someone who is physically ugly had to deal with more challenges that those more attractive, and somehow developed a deeper sense of inner beauty. It's also likely that same person became a bitter recluse, never developing any character at all. And whose only meaning is derived from waxing philosophical on fitness forums.

    I used to think the idea of women radiating during pregnancy was bunk sold to the masses to increase Hallmark card sales. Until I watched two co-workers at a school I worked at years ago noticeably change. Two different women, two different times - I asked them if they got their hair cut, new glasses, etc. I stopped short of exclaiming "you look more beautiful than I remember seeing you" because that would be kinda creepy, and weird in front of a bunch of six-year-olds. I found out later both women were pregnant and were really happy about it.

    I know there are hormonal changes that go on with pregnancy, and there are physical, biological things going on (lots of crazy stuff too) that could be attributed to the change. But I believe a lot of the beauty I saw was contentment, hope, joy, excitement of being a mom - especially a first-time mom. Those inward emotions had a physical affect on the outward appearance.

    My point? Ladies, go get knocked up to look hotter.

    My serious point is that character contributes to beauty. And I think the idea of pitting inward vs. outward beauty against each other (or a necessary trade-off) is counterproductive. Confidence, kindness, patience, a love and appreciation of self - these are character traits - "inner beauty" that contribute to "outer beauty" in ways that make-up, nice clothes and boob jobs can't. And I'm not saying that make-up, nice clothes and boob jobs can't contribute to beauty. I'm simply saying that as there are a multitude of ways to define beauty, there are a multitude of ways to achieve it.

    Yet another perfect response, Ken.
  • MiloBloom83
    MiloBloom83 Posts: 2,724 Member
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    You become friends with somebody who's inner beauty you appreciate
    You lust after somebody who's outward appearances you like
    You love somebody who you appreciate inside and out.

    The man is a genius! Hi taunto.

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