People are like flowers – in the way that there are so many kinds of beauty. Roses are considered beautiful, but then so are other flowers – Gerber, Lilac, Orchid, Lily, Forget-Me-Nots, Lotus, and many others. Can you really say that one flower is more beautiful than another? They are all different! It is unjust to compare, like comparing apples and oranges.

However, people are not as forgiving when comparing themselves with others. Somehow, each decade’s beauty is dictated by the fashion world, and people follow it, simply because no one wants to be outdated. In the 80’s, most women wanted to be a strong woman in power suit and colourful make up. In the 90’s, fashion style simplified but women were encouraged to be thin. Even now – as fashion style is more varied, people still think they are not perfect – according to what’s trendy. It is one thing to be unhealthily over or underweight, but another to do all sorts of things to change the body such as the texture of the skin and the size of breasts.

No one has the same beauty as another. One person may be classically beautiful, another may be sexily beautiful, while the next person may be beautiful in a cute way. Even if we use the same term of beauty for two people, the manifestation differs for each of them.

Nature provides a definition of beauty, which is harmony and balance.

To see your own beauty, first of all drop all concepts of beauty from magazines and TV. Be it thin, muscular, heavy, whatever it is, just drop it.

Next, stand back and really look at yourself at the mirror. Don’t be fearful of your reflection - I knew a person who couldn’t look at himself in a mirror. To see the kind of beauty you have, you must look at a mirror. Take notes of what you like and dislike about your body parts. Next, write down why you like or dislike these body parts. Do this exercise from head to toe.

Then, see if you can think of ways of balancing the body. For example, if you have small shoulders and a large buttock, you may want to wear a volumed top to balance the relatively larger bottom, or wear an “A” line skirt to highlight it tastefully. If you have very thin legs and

A great haircut always makes a person feel and look wonderful. If you do not know of any good hairstylist, look at people on the streets. When you see a person with a great hairstyle, ask the person where they’ve had their hair done.

Colour is another great tool. Try on clothes of different colours. How do you feel in different colours? What are the colours’ messages? There is much emotional association with colours. A colour may make one person feel energized, while it makes another feel down. Choose them carefully.

Furthermore, what are you projecting from within? This is the final secret to revealing your own beauty. I knew a person in sales whom many would consider unfriendly. Yet when she got pregnant, something within her changed. The way she spoke and behaved was the same from habitual tendencies. Yet, the unpleasant attitude no longer has the same intensity. Her eyes radiated a great warmth that I had never seen previously. Something inside her changed – not even her unfriendly attitude could cover that. So, how you feel about yourself radiates from your eyes.

Do you know that beauty is not all about you? Many people “beautify” themselves to get more of what they want. That’s fine, but life is more than just getting what we want individually. Beauty has great power – thus it comes with responsibilities. A person may be very beautiful, but if the attitude is bad, then the beauty has no value. If you have been complimented to be a great beauty, your smile can make someone’s day.

So, what kind of beauty do you have, and how do you contribute to the world with it?

Noelle Wong sees and unveils beauty in people. She is the owner of iN-IMAGE! Inc., a personal image consulting company in Toronto that offers one-on-one consultations and workshops to help people increase their personal presence. For inquiries visit her website at http://www.in-image.com

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• Embracing Unexpected Change


• Laughter


• Lessons In Nature


• Staying Connected To Your Energy


• When You Think You Can


• The Power of our Thoughts


• Still Not Quite Getting It Right?


• Its the Thought that Counts!


• Your Emotions: Are You Watching Them?


• Mind Techniques


• Risk vs. Reward in Human Relationships


• Visualization-Meditation Exercise: Go To Your Room


• What Will Other People Think of You?


• Whats Your Optimism Ratio?