In Defense of Vanity

Ever heard the saying “it’s what’s on the inside that counts?” We all have. This is the saying that shames you into thinking that it isn’t okay to care about how you look. If you diet because you care about your physique, people automatically deem you frivolous, shallow, short-sighted, or worst of all, vain.

Being good looking is fun. How can anybody deny that? Furthermore, one could go so far as to claim that being attractive has more to do with who you are on the inside than you even realize. You have motivation to shop because you look sharper in nice clothes. People start treating you differently. You exude more confidence, which gives you the courage to apply for that executive position you always undersold yourself for, and—lo and behold—you land it. Now you have good looks, nice clothes, and unmistakable outer confidence. This inevitably makes you extremely attractive and keeps you as booked on date night as Adrian Grenier in Entourage.

Studies show that the “bias for beauty” is very real, and very unavoidable. Juries are more likely to deem attractive people as innocent, employers are more likely to hire attractive candidates, and attractive children are undoubtedly more popular in schools.

We all remember Narcissus and his infamous demise, brought on by the fact that he couldn’t stop staring at his own intoxicating reflection in the lake that ultimately drowned him. Sometimes when touching up my makeup behind the wheel, I think of good ol’ Narcissus, but let’s be honest. The better I look, the more likely I am to get out of the ticket, right?

We didn’t make the rules, but we can sure as hell adapt to them. And would that be the worst thing? There’s no denying that working out and eating healthfully will endow you with a hot body, but is it enough to sustain the hard work that goes into maintaining it? How necessary is a little vanity?

A study done at the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, Canada suggests that overweight people with perfectly healthy cholesterol and blood pressure levels were still more likely to die of heart disease than people who stayed within their healthy weight ranges. When it comes to our weight, size matters.

Len Kravitz Ph.D. suggests that 50 percent of people who begin a workout regimen will drop out within the first six months. He goes on to theorize that self perception may have everything to do with that statistic. How people feel about themselves will affect their motivation to hit the gym regularly. Being sweaty and overweight in a gym full of the people you aspire to look like watching (and potentially judging) you doesn’t exactly conjure feelings of empowerment or motivation.

Surely you haven’t forgotten your first few steps on a treadmill, or that awkward stroll around the weight room during which you wondered who would be watching as you attempted to determine what does what and what goes where. The motivation to go for that 5 a.m. run doesn’t really start to kick in until the results do. Feeling strong and sexy at the gym is amazing. Feeling out of breath, out of place, and out of your league is not.

The definition of vanity is to take pride in oneself and one’s accomplishments. For lifters, physical appearance is one hell of an accomplishment. So go ahead, double-take yourself in the mirror today, and remember that a little vanity can go a long way. Sometimes (just sometimes) it’s what’s on the outside that counts.