Why do you want to be someone else?

We live in a world obsessed with good looks and eternal youth. In every movie, the lead roles are played by handsome, slim, good looking men and young and petite women. Not everyone is born with movie star looks but today's me-me-me culture encourages us all to become people we are not and can never aspire to be.

We relate to movies more than we relate to one another. We identify with some roles and have grown up with some movie stars who have inspired us since childhood. And yes, some of them are truly talented and inspiring - the likes of Meryl Streep who is a legendary actress with talent and skill and Denzil Washington who is billed as a talented character actor. But there are so many in between whose talents are yet to be discovered but whose presence on the big or the small screen drives hoards of men and women to emulate them.

Movie stars

Obsession with good looks can be dangerous. You can drive yourself to an edge of desperation. Some resort to all kinds of treatments to look like movie stars or supermodels. Plastic surgery, liposuction, botox injections, fillers and what not; these procedures are expensive and need to be repeated to keep it going. Too much of procedures can result in damaged skin, altered features and set a dangerous precedent.

On the whole, why try to become someone else you are not and can never be? To like or admire a movie star or a beautiful personality is one thing - to emulate and slavishly follow the trend to become her is insanity. You and I will never be the movie star we admire. Personally, I find the lives most of them lead to be full of disappointment and stress. They are under pressure to retain their youth and keep themselves looking good all the time - after all, acting is their bread and butter. They need to look good in order to be in demand for roles.

How many of us can truly be content with who we are - we can learn to love ourselves. Accentuate on our best features and down play the areas we are not strong in. Find out what our strengths are and build on those strengths. Teach ourselves to appreciate what we have rather than lament about what we don't have.

Plastic surgery victims

It is tempting indeed to follow the world as it enters the next best fad - whether in fashion, style or any other field. But can we pause for a moment and think - does this suit me? Is it my thing or not? Often, what makes you outstanding and noticeable is not donning the next trend but choosing what suits you and brings out the best in you.

The world has seen everything and everyone from plastic surgery victims such as the infamous Jocelyn Wildenstein who emerged with a nightmare face following multiple plastic surgeries.

Some famous personalities have ended up with disfigured faces or over-accentuated bodies. Just as you have one life, you have one face to live with. You can make the most of what God gave you instead of trying to look like someone else.

Before loving others, we have to learn to love ourselves - our looks, our families, our bodies. Hating the way we look doesn't take us anywhere. Sure, diet and exercise is hard work but can turn your body healthy and slim.

Style and elegance

There are no short cuts in life but some changes can actually make us better over-all. Lifestyle changes such as exercise, diet, reducing stress and spending time with your family can make a tremendous change in making your body and your skin look better.

Trying to look like someone else or trying to emulate someone else's life is not the road to take. It is the road to avoid. The world may pressure some of us into conforming to its standards of beauty, style and elegance. But those standards are not necessarily the right ones, as some of us have discovered at great personal cost. Even if we could actually achieve those standards, they would not necessarily make us feel good. We do not have to go along with the next best thing as the world dictates. If we know what our strengths are, our values are, we can stick to our own path and still be content. Let the wind come in, enjoy its comfort but do not let the wind carry you away. Some of us are waiting to get carried away - we don't seem to mind. But it doesn't have to be that way.

Let's make a new effort towards identifying our strengths, highlighting them and becoming ourselves instead of someone else. Let's work towards strengthening our inner man, become confident in who we are instead of wishing we could become someone else.