In an era where appearance is the absolute priority, we often overlook the qualities of the soul, those that no amount of surgery can replace. Physical appearance changes over the years, while personality remains intact despite the passage of time. True beauty is not seen; it is expressed and lived. In this age of Botox, lip fillers, and premature cosmetic procedures, it is crucial to value inner richness.
Personality before physical appearance
Today, 10-year-old girls are already worrying about wrinkles they don't even have, 20-year-old women are spending their first paycheck on injections, and men are flocking to Turkey to fix their hair insecurities . Physical appearance is no longer just a detail; it's an essential criterion, an aesthetic endorsement, even a charm enhancer.
Yet, it's just a facade, a mere storefront. If, in a bookstore, a book cover is the first visual element that catches our eye, the content matters far more than the form. Well, it's much the same for human beings. Certainly, physical appearance is important, but personality prevails and can win our hearts.
Unlike physical appearance, personality is rarely changeable. It's impossible to disguise one's true nature: it always resurfaces with a vengeance, despite all attempts at concealment. More authentic, more raw, and less malleable, personality is our most prized asset. In a study published in the journal Archives of Sexual Behavior, Brazilian researchers discovered two attributes that are more striking than full lips and an hourglass figure.
These character traits that make all the difference
In this large-scale study , conducted on 778 cisgender Brazilians aged 18 to 64, researchers presented participants with a simple exercise. The goal? To create a composite sketch of their ideal partner. And it wasn't a matter of piecing together parts of magazine models to form a single body. The objective here was to develop a psychological profile of their ideal partner. They were given points that they could distribute as they wished across five characteristics: intelligence, kindness, physical attractiveness, health, and socioeconomic status.
And against all expectations, respondents placed greater value on intelligence and kindness. According to this enlightening and deeply reassuring study, these are essential criteria, the key pieces of the psychological puzzle. While in the language of love, saying "you're kind" is sometimes a polite way to rebuff someone's advances, it would seem that it speaks volumes.
In other words, intelligence combined with kindness trumps physical appearance and financial status. The moral of the story: it's better to perfect and showcase what you already have than to want what you don't. "In any case, if you want to attract more potential partners, working on your brain and personality seems to be your best asset," Joao Francisco Goes Braga Takayanagi told PsyPost .
Beauty lies elsewhere than on the body.
In an era where it's almost normal to slather on anti-aging cream at 18 and where beauty is reduced to a vulgar competition of resemblance, inner beauty seems a distant concept. In an age intolerant of aging and pro-surgical surgery, we too often forget to celebrate those qualities that escape the eye but speak to the heart.
Yet behind a hooked nose, a crooked smile, chubby cheeks, or thick glasses lies an invaluable treasure: altruism, empathy, generosity, humor, and intelligence. The body is merely a jewel box filled with diamonds.
So don't be afraid to be yourself in social situations and express your personality. These qualities, which are often praised but not always appreciated for their true worth, are your strengths.
