We're sure you could list three things you find beautiful about your best friend – but could you do the same for yourself? Watch our video and use our action checklist to explore why we’re so hard on ourselves when it comes to compliments.
Why don’t we appreciate ourselves?
We made the Friends video by asking women: “What do you love about your body?” And then asking them: “What do you love about your friend’s body?”
Can you guess the reactions to each?
It’s often easy to recognise the things we like and admire in other people, but we find it harder to see those things in ourselves. According to The Dove Global Beauty and Confidence Report in 2016, only 31% of British women feel confident in their own beauty. Why do we default to such a critical opinion of ourselves?
Each of us is unique; we’re the sum of our cultures, families, backgrounds, choices, lifestyles and much more. By constantly comparing our whole selves to selected features of those around us – this friend's figure, that friend's hair, another friend's glamorous wardrobe – we create an impossible ideal that we can never live up to.
It’s important to recognise what's beautiful about our appearance, but also to remember that looks aren't the whole story.
Try our action checklist with your child and learn to compliment yourselves.
