Lecture
We have not yet discussed attractiveness to other people; the thing is that we do not much like to think about appearance. We very rarely think about the impression our hairstyle makes on people. We hardly ever think that appearance can have a decisive influence on success in life. And in general, by self-development we mean working on our character and correcting deep inner flaws. Clothes, manners and facial expression always seemed to us too superficial to attach any significance to. However, the reflections on appearance that we once despised acquired meaning and value after we realized why others manage some things better than you do. So today I will share research in this area and tell you how you can improve your attractiveness tenfold, why that matters, and what it has to do with self-development. First, let us deal with the obvious: attractive people are simply more successful; if success is measured in money, they earned on average 20% more than everyone else. This is the sum of a whole range of factors. For example, they are hired more often. Italian researchers sent out 10,000 résumés to a large number of companies. All the applications were identical; only the photographs differed. On average, employers called back 30% of the fake applicants, but for attractive people this figure was 50%, that is, they were called back 20% more often. This means that already at the initial screening stage attractive people have a greater chance of success. Surprisingly, most studies of this kind show that it is men who get a bonus from their looks. But of course, it does not end with online applications.
In his book Beauty Pays, Daniel Hamermesh presents data according to which attractive people also do better in job interviews, and on top of that are promoted faster once they are already working. That is, at every stage of a professional career, from sending out résumés to career advancement, a person receives additional bonuses for their appearance. But even before you get to a career, you first need to finish your education. And yes, attractive people are more likely to be admitted to a university after the entrance interview. And once they are studying, teachers will see them as much smarter. Never mind university: attractive preschool children are considered smarter, more honest and more promising. By the way, speaking of children, in one experiment they played a game in which they were asked to choose a captain for their team. The children were shown photographs of politicians. It turned out that the children always chose the most attractive-looking candidates. And their choice predicted the results of past elections with 70% accuracy. You may say that this is madness or coincidence. After all, politics is so complicated. People consciously choose whom to follow. But that is not quite so. It is known from a huge number of studies that attractive politicians win elections significantly more often. Apparently Plato was right. Psychologists, basing themselves only on appearance, predicted the results of past elections in the USA, Bulgaria, Australia, Finland, Brazil, Mexico, Switzerland, Japan and Germany. How can appearance have such an effect? Why, regardless of culture, age, political views and upbringing, do we prefer attractive people in all spheres of life? Why do they earn more, win elections, enjoy greater respect from those around them and bask in universal recognition? In fact, it is all very simple. After all, what is attractiveness essentially? It is external qualities that tell those around you something about yourself. About your character, your priorities in life, your values, your health and your upbringing.
For example, if you are overweight, those around you are more likely to judge you as a lazy person. Even if they are overweight themselves. And however much we would like to deny it, in a significant number of cases they will be right. Of course there are exceptions: there are medications and illnesses because of which it is very hard to lose weight. But for the most part, excess fat is a signal to those around you about particular negative traits of your character. It is a clear signal, and others read it unconsciously. Aha, this person perhaps finds self-control difficult and is not ready to deal with the consequences of their habits by going to the gym. That is a very bad signal, especially if you are trying to build a business or a long-term relationship with such a person. Of course, nobody reasons like this consciously; we simply look at a person and they evoke certain feelings in us. They seem more or less attractive. To put it in perspective, in Russia 60% of adults are overweight. And of course, we know that overweight people earn significantly less than others because of their reduced attractiveness. Thus, if you simply keep yourself in shape, you automatically place yourself in the 38th percentile of attractiveness. That is, on average, you will be more attractive than 60% of the people around you, with all the ensuing consequences. That is an incredible effect just for not eating too much. It can be shown differently. Through facial attractiveness: imagine two groups of people, 100 overweight people and 100 people without excess weight. On average, a face from the second group will be 400% more attractive. Do you realize how powerful that effect is? To some it may even seem unrealistic. But think again: what is excess weight? It says very specific, unattractive things. And even the most tolerant of us react to them unconsciously. Take, for example, Christian Bale in two films made a year apart.
It is as if they were two completely different people. But there is only one difference: the first Christian has a body mass index of 30, the second 25. According to a large 2016 study, our faces look best at a body mass index of 23. For women this figure is lower, 19. But if you suddenly decide to go a little further, and not just maintain a healthy body mass index but seriously take up sport, for example in the gym, that will be a completely different level. Look at these two figures: the second simply has a good, I would say ideal, body mass index.
However, the first figure has better proportions, and is also a full two times more attractive. Why? He has a wider chest, shoulders and back. Try dividing your waist circumference by your chest circumference. If you get 0.7, you have ideal male proportions. If not, you have something to work on. In my subjective opinion, this is the result of a couple of years of training in the gym. Two years, plus 200% to attractiveness. And again, returning to the question of salaries, it is known that each additional kilogram of muscle gives on average a 1.5% increase in earnings. If you think about it, these are absolutely staggering numbers, especially over an entire lifetime. So far we have discussed only the figure, but already at this stage most Russians can improve their attractiveness to other people fivefold. And we need to understand why. It is not at all because of the superficiality of those around us. On the contrary, most people unconsciously draw the right conclusions: if a person is willing to take care of themselves, if they have enough respect for their own body, if they do not let themselves go, then they most likely will not let a shared project or a relationship go either. We prefer attractive people because for hundreds of thousands of years this worked for our ancestors. It is a sensible strategy for survival and reproduction. To such people we give resources, high positions, more opportunities for reproduction and many other things. Why? Because it works. If you can fight your laziness, go to workouts for two years, deny yourself unhealthy food and watch your diet, if your discipline is literally carved into your body, you know what? You will be trusted more. Of those available to us, we choose the healthiest, most promising, intellectually developed and socially adapted people. And this choice happens unconsciously.
For example, attractive people automatically earn more of our trust. We also notice positive qualities in such people more quickly. Fine, the athletic physique is easy to understand. But did you know that your friends make you more attractive? Data from 2015 showed that if you place a person in a group, they gain extra points in physical attractiveness. This is called the cheerleader effect. When we see that someone is surrounded by friends, we assign them additional evolutionary value. They have companions who have already recognized their worth. They laugh with them and sort out various matters together, which means the person is relatively well vetted. The logic is very simple, and it is well supported in the scientific literature. For example, from quite recent studies we know that the attractiveness of a group is higher than the average attractiveness of each of its members. And it is precisely physical attractiveness that increases, that is, your face literally becomes more appealing in the company of other people. The conclusion is very simple: if you are meeting new people, ask to be introduced. If you take photos, let them be group photos. If you want a promotion at work, make friends with your colleagues and be useful to them. In general, usefulness is the golden rule of attractiveness. If you are in high demand, if you are in good health, if you have unique skills and if you are kind to those around you, they will consider you more physically attractive. This is called the halo effect: if you have a reputation as a kind and good friend, then new acquaintances will perceive you as a more attractive person. Again, we are talking strictly about physical attractiveness. Historically, to increase our chances of survival, we had to choose the most reliable and sensible people as our companions. If someone is known for their kindness, our brain in a way deceives us and makes that person's face a little more pleasant. And this is confirmed in the scientific literature. For example, in a 2004 study we find that various aspects of reputation can increase physical attractiveness by 50% - these are definitely non-trivial numbers! If you want more non-trivial numbers that increase attractiveness, try eating healthy foods.
Let us look at just one healthy food in practice. We all know that we should eat carrots. Right? Well, in 2017 an interesting study was carried out: for eight weeks, men ate 30,000 units of beta-carotene a day, which is roughly 3 medium-sized carrots. After 8 weeks it turned out that their faces had become slightly more yellowish and a full 13% more attractive. Yes, the tone of the face changed only slightly, but again, what is skin tone, essentially, in evolutionary terms? It is a signal to the outside world about what you eat: first, you can afford carrots, and second, you care about your health. These two facts instantly convey a huge amount of information about you to those around you. That is why, evolutionarily, it became advantageous to notice such things. And we do notice them. Incidentally, other animals notice them too. Skin coloration from beta-carotene attracts even mice, fish, birds and lizards. So proper nutrition is a universal thing that we notice instantly, unconsciously, and cannot do anything about.
Carrots, by the way, improve not only skin color but also how we smell. This, of course, also has an effect on attractiveness. In another study, researchers examined the smell of sweat, or rather how it is affected by carotenoids. It turned out that men who ate more beta-carotene in the form of carrots smelled more pleasant, according to women's ratings. If you are skeptical about these findings, you should know that beta-carotene is an antioxidant, which means it fights oxidation in the body and, as a consequence, inflammation. Naturally, this is reflected in the properties of secretions such as sweat. People with less inflammation in the body smell better, which means they are healthier. Healthy people are more reliable, and that makes them attractive. Evolution made us notice the tiniest indicators of human health, including skin color and the smell of sweat, which depend directly on our lifestyle and on what we eat. All of this, of course, applies not only to carrots but also to a huge number of other foods, for example, garlic. Yes, the smell of garlic on the breath will repel those around you, but regular consumption reduces inflammation in the body, stimulates immunity, and also kills harmful bacteria. In the end, this makes the smell of sweat more pleasant for others. And that has a big influence on attractiveness. And of course, as a result of eating garlic, skin quality also improves. Note that we have discussed only two ingredients. I could talk for hours about the benefits of beets, broccoli, lentils, apples and other foods for attractiveness, but, believe me, it is better simply to eat a varied, healthy diet, and those around you will notice. They will notice just as surely if you eat chips, cakes and candy, washing it all down with soda. From countless studies it is known that isolated carbohydrates and fats worsen skin quality and body odor. Frankly, I would not like to spend too much time on nutrition. Everyone already knows which food is healthy and which is harmful. For my part, I only show that proper nutrition is not merely a matter of some abstract, head-in-the-clouds healthiness, but of quite objective attractiveness to other people. It is worth devoting some time to clothing.
How does it affect those who wear it? Of course, others judge us by our clothes; in fact, even minimal changes in a person's wardrobe can radically transform how others perceive them. For example, formal clothing makes others consider us more competent, sociable and intelligent. It can also double our attractiveness. The same goes for shoes. It turns out that it is the style and neatness of shoes that most accurately tell us about a person's social status, character and even political views. The rule here is very simple: shoes and clothing should be well kept, clean and tidy, and should show our positive qualities. In fact, I could go on endlessly about how to be more attractive. You can, for example, wear red clothing, which apparently has a quite noticeable effect. Good posture also does not hurt, as Clever Mat recently explained on his channel; eye contact literally makes you better looking and lets you succeed more often in a job interview. Even a hairstyle can improve our attractiveness by 80%. If you add up everything I have said today, you can improve strictly physical attractiveness 8-10 times. But what, in the end, is the most important thing in what was said today? Attractive people care about themselves and about those around them. They respect their bodies, they are useful to others and they are ready to become better. Everything else simply follows from these primary principles. A beautiful figure, neat clothes and true friends do not appear by chance. All of this reflects genuine, deep, even hard-won qualities: discipline, willpower, self-mastery and purposefulness. You could say that the body and social life are our lifelong project. We work on it, make investments in it, take care of it, and carry out audits, or we neglect it and let everything drift. Those around us look at our project and its results and draw reasonable conclusions. That is what attractiveness is. Not Botox and not Supreme clothing, but objective value, of which we are the bearers. What we really are. I hope this article was useful to you. Honor and good luck!
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