9 Ways To Like Yourself More, According To Science
byJill Di Donato
Maya Angelou once said that, "success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it." While inspirational, the sentiment is sometimes easier said than done. Culture has done a good job at trying to dismantle a woman's capability to like herself. Luckily, there are ways to like yourself according to science, which, as everyone knows from Sociology 101, is unencumbered by gender.
The human body is hardwired for survival. I'm not crazy about the phrase "women get in their own way," because I'm not quite sure I understand what that implies. I do understand from experience that by overthinking, I can make things harder on myself. That's when it's important to tune into the mindset that your body is rooting for you to succeed. Remember Darwin's survival of the fittest theory? Basically, by studying evolution, Darwin proved (in a totally simplified nutshell) that your body is doing everything it can to succeed in its environment. Circling back to Angelou's inspirational quote, that means liking yourself.
An article in Harvard Magazine surveyed evolutionary psychologists, and among them, psychologist Nancy Etcoff confirmed how culture has conditioned people to dwell on negative things in life, when the body is actually programed to fend off "more immediate dangergerms, predators" and nasty stuff. So, let your body lead you to self-acceptance. Better yet, here's how science can actually help you like yourself. And none of this involves Bunsen burners.