
19. Start going to the gym before going under the knife.
User qwe340 shares, “I give more respect to the person who has spent years in the gym sculpting his/her own body than to the person who went in for cosmetic surgery to have abs implanted into them. … people that stick with going to the gym for years usually do it for more than just appearance. You can actually see this after a while in a university gym. Usually, around September, the gym will be packed with people who are lifting because they are insecure and want to look good. They will constantly scrutinize how they look and show their abs whenever a female comes around. However, by mid to end October, only a quarter of the packed gym will be left. Wanting to look good can only sustain their motivation for hard work for so long.
… For over a decade now, psychology has shown that explicit self-esteem is probably pathological while implicit self-esteem is what’s needed. (basically, someone truly confident can live with imperfection and criticism and does not need constant explicit positive feedback). I think cosmetic surgeries don’t do anything to people’s implicit self-esteem (the feeling of, I might be imperfect and vulnerable, but I can still be loved), but rather patches their explicit self-esteem. So I think patients should at least be recommended to a therapist if they want a cosmetic procedure.”