Looking good and feeling good are perceived differently around the world. You may associate good looks with a well-defined face, say for instance, a prominent jaw line. You may associate it with the overall body structure. A slimmer figure is considered more attractive most places around the world. Dressing fashionably, or being trendy with your overall attire, is likely to earn you a compliment along the lines of “Hey, you look good.”
Feeling good is a different matter altogether. It’s a much larger universe. It’s not trapped by someone’s sense of style or fashion, and certainly not limited by society’s conventional boundaries of what counts as “good looking.” It’s a universal language that everyone just gets.
That’s why when someone’s feeling good, you see it, you feel it, you know it. There’s no subjectivity here, no difference of perspective depending on culture or history, unlike in the case of good looks, the definition of which changes from place to place.
While looking good and feeling good are strikingly different facets, they’re linked in a significant way. Someone who feels good tends to look good and someone who looks good tends to feel good.
Women spend ample time applying makeup every day so they can look good, not because of some superficial or frivolous need to look beautiful (at least not for most women), but so that they can look in the mirror and feel good about themselves. It helps them feel more self-assured, more confident, and ultimately, more ready to take on the world. It’s the same reason that many men keep their facial and body hair trim, wear perfume, and use beauty products generously — at least in these times when the conventional definition of man has changed culturally. Looking good just makes them feel good.
This is not to say, however, that looking good is the only or best way to feeling good. So often we see people look stunning on the outside but feel miserable from the inside. On the other hand, if you feel good, you look good. There’s no two ways about it. Because when you feel good — it’s an experience that comes from within, you automatically start to dress well, look good, feel magnetic, and be enthused to be alive. And that rubs off on anyone else that happens to come anywhere near you.
So if it’s a contest between looking good and feeling good, you should pick the latter without much thought. The good looks will follow anyway. At the same time, never stop trying to look good — maintain hygiene, dress well, wear perfume, and apply makeup. It’ll give you confidence even in times when you don’t have any.