Imagine to have better results in terms of looking good naked, without actually working for it. Sounds to good to be true? In this blog I will share with you how to improve your looks without lifting a single weight, use any of the overpriced beauty products or follow a diet for even a day. Although it does make you look better, it doesn’t do anything to improve your health. But let’s enjoy the sunny side of this incredible phenomena.
Golden Behaviors
– Nudges for a Healthy Lifestyle –
Reading time: 5 Minutes
So I was at my dentist the other day. Just a regular 6 month check-up. Nothing to worry about, since I try to take good care of my teeth. I brush twice a day, use toothpicks after meals and occasionally Listerine mouthwater to top it off. So it wasn’t a surprise that the check-up only lasted a couple of minutes. No caveties, healthy gums, all good. But when I got out of the chair the dentist said to me: “Hé Sander, you have very nice teeth”. Before adding “For a 39-year old”. I left the place in shock.
What is my league?
The shocking thing about my dentist’s remark was that he put me in a different league. I thought I was still playing in the Champions League of Teeth where everyone can play as long as your teeth are good enough. But apparently I am already in a different league where there is at least a minimum age. Probably with an age cohort between 35 and 45 years. Although my dentist thinks I do rather well there, it is not the league I want to compete in. When I got home and became somewhat more relax, both the downside and the upside of this whole different league thing came to mind.
The downside of being in a different league
Say you are doing really well financially. You work hard, business is good and the money starts pouring in. The house you currently live in is nice, but the neighbourhood not so much. So you decide to move to a better part of town. After the move you suddenly realize that you don’t have the most expensive car in your street any longer. The upscale neighbourhood that you now call home is even richer than you are. You not only have the cheapest car, but also the smallest house on the block. You went from being the richest resident in a mediocre neighbourhood, to the poorest one in a rich neighbourhood. Maybe not a bad thing in and of itself, but it does have an effect.
The contrast effect
See how the orange dots appear to be different in the image above. The size of the grey dots makes the same orange dots look and feel different. This is a visual example of the contrast effect. The contrast effect is a cognitive bias that distorts our perception of something when we compare it to something else, by enhancing the differences between them.
Imagine another little experiment. You have two buckets. You fill one bucket with lukewarm water. The second bucket with ice cold water. If you put your hand in the ice cold bucket first and then in the lukewarm bucket, the latter one will feel extremely hot. Not so the other way around. Our perception of the temperature of the water is distorted, because in the first case we compare it to the ice cold water, which makes the water feel warm. However, in the second case we compare the water of the lukewarm water with room temperature, which makes it feel cold. And here we find the upside of being in a different league.
The upside of being in a different league
The remark by my dentist showed me there are different comparisons to make. In the case of my teeth to a particular age group. And the contrast effect made me stand out in a positive way in my age group. The contrast effect also gives options in terms of looking good naked. Next time you go clubbing, you go with a friend who is slightly less attractive than you are. Just slightly though, you don’t want to scare anybody away. The next time you go to the gym, you go with a friend who is slightly less muscular. The next time you go to the beach, you go with a slightly fatter friend. The next time you go… I guess you get the picture by now.
All you have to do now is to figure out how to ditch your beautiful, muscular, thin friends as fast as you can. Because if word spreads about this contrast effect, nobody wants to hang out with them anymore pretty soon.
How to Improve Your Looks Without Dieting or Going to the Gym Click To TweetSander Palm (1980) is author of Golden Behaviors and behavioral economist. He uses insights from the behavioral sciences to explain why people often act against their own interests. As a behavioral expert, he explores how you can nudge your behavior for a healthy lifestyle. He has a Master of Science in Marketing (VU University Amsterdam).
When you have been inspired to start and maintain your Golden Behaviors, reach out to me.
Source of top image: Photo by Pixabay via Pexels
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