Inner beauty: 6 keys to cultivate it

Several guidelines to promote this type of personal development that goes beyond the physical.

Yes, it is true that appearances, for better or worse, matter a lot nowadays. But it is no less true that in many aspects of our lives, or even in those that are more important, aesthetics are no longer so relevant in human relationships.

At the end of the day, a pretty face or a good ability when it comes to choosing clothes is of no use if you don't even know the most basic principles for maintaining a friendship or a relationship.

And no matter how much they say, inner beauty is not something isolated within each person, but it manifests itselfIt is manifested through their actions and the way they externalize their thoughts. At the end of the day, no matter how inner it may be, if we do not do what is necessary to put it into practice and make it influence our relationships, it does not exist.

Fortunately, just as we can take more or less care of our image, inner beauty can also be developed by investing a minimum of time and effort in it. Let's take a look at it.

What is inner beauty?

Inner beauty is the set of social skills that facilitates the establishment of more or less stable personal ties.. If conventional beauty attracts attention, inner beauty is not only able to attract attention; it also gets people to keep abreast of what we do and want to stay in touch.

Thus, inner beauty is not a quality in itself, but a set of characteristics that are highly valued. a set of characteristics that are highly valued by others and which influence our ability to and that influence our ability to socialize and even to connect emotionally with others. It is a group of characteristics that lead us to establish affective bonds that do not always have to be loving, but that usually go hand in hand with affection, empathy and understanding.

How to develop this type of beauty

Here are some useful tips on how to develop inner beauty.

Make a list of your flaws and strengths.

This is a very useful first step to know what is the present situation, where we are in our personal evolution and how far we have to go. and how far we have to go. To do this, you can write down on a sheet of paper, in list format and organizing everything in two columns, what are your flaws and your strengths, as you perceive yourself.

From the previous action, prioritize which weaknesses you want to work more on to improve them, and how you can use your strengths to make it easier. An alternative version of this is to write down how you plan to be even better at what you already Excel at, although it is advisable to start with the aspects you don't like so much, so that there are no strong imbalances.

2. Make a list of what you think they believe about you.

This is a second step to stop and analyze what you should improve and what you should not from the point of view of others.

To do this, write down two more columns of your strengths and weaknesses, but from the point of view of others in general. It is better not to stick to the criterion of a small group of people, because this would give more strength to your own criteria.It is better not to stick to the criteria of a small group of people, because this would give more strength to biases and possible prejudices on the part of that group. The idea is to write something that represents "others" in general.

Once you have done this, analyze to what extent these possible defects are based on something real, and to what extent they are wrong assessments.and to what extent they are wrong assessments. Think that practically no one outside of you knows you completely, because everyone knows you as you relate to each other in a very specific context.

Once you have done this, prioritize what you think is most urgent to change about you, according to what you think is the criteria of others. Is it similar to what you did in the previous step in which you focused on your point of view? From the combination of these two lists appear the aspects to work more on to develop inner beauty, although you should give more importance to your own criteria than to those of others.

3. Work on your values

In inner beauty there should always be a set of values that guide us and establish what do we want for ourselves and for others?. Being consistent in this aspect helps us to connect more and better with others, as it expresses commitment to ideas of the common good.

4. Learn basic communication skills

Many times, the image that the others have of us appears damaged by not knowing how to communicate well. Learning these fundamental skills is one of the most useful things you can do, even if it takes months or years. Knowing how to practice active listening, getting used to being assertive, making sure that conversations are useful for both partners.... All this will enrich your social interactions.

5. Get used to thinking about the needs of others.

Many times, we can overlook what others want or what is important to others. Solving this through practice and constant self-correction allows us to consolidate another of the great pillars of inner beauty: the ability to not think only of oneself..

6. Make your day count

Personal development can be a very powerful source of motivation. Therefore, beyond the time dedicated to your responsibilities, try not to fall into a life surrendered to passivity and free time spent doing nothing (although the latter is important to rest). Read, learn, see new places... whatever you think helps you grow as a person.