And cosmetic surgery isn’t just a predominately female deal any longer. Men are having all sorts of cosmetic surgical procedures done these days. Everything from nose jobs (rhinoplasty) to grappling lifts to eye lifts are clean game in the male arena these days.

The technological advances that have prefabricated cosmetic surgery easier and less expensive, not to mention a great deal less painful than in the past, do not statement for the meteoric rise in the number of people having plastic surgery, nor for the fact that it has now become common for both genders.

This rise is, in fact, more due to the fact that in American culture there are few things more highly prized than a person’s looks. Studies have been done that establish the more captivating a mortal is the more likely they’ll get a job, regardless of how much more skill and experience other people applying for the same job might have.

Images of perfect men and women on television, in print ads, movies, music videos and everywhere else have prefabricated people in our culture believe that if they just look a certain way, then everything else in their lives will be fine, even great.

And with famous celebrities touting their cosmetic surgery in front of us regular on TV and in movies, it’s simple for anyone to believe that if we just looked better, our lives would be perfect.

Now the reality is that a nose job changes just that: the nose. It does nothing to lift a burden of debt or exchange a dull love life for the romantic adventure of a lifetime.

Yes, having cosmetic surgical procedures done can give someone a swift boost to their self-esteem, but it won’t last as long as the nose job will unless they do some serious positive thinking and inner work along with it. Confidence and self-esteem come from the inside, and changing the outside will only bring temporary relief for those who suffer from deep feelings of inferiority.

So before rushing out to the nearest cosmetic surgeon, anyone considering cosmetic surgery should take a good look at their inside first! If having a cosmetic surgical procedure done will add to their life, great. It’s probably a good intent and will enhance their self-esteem and bring them pleasure.

But. If a mortal thinks that any cosmetic surgery procedure will change their life and make their life perfect (or make them instantly successful and eliminate all their problems), they are in for a rude awakening, I’m sorry to say. Unless the necessary inner work is done to match the outer work, a mortal can actually become even more insecure than before which often leads to deep depression.

Why? Because they’ll finally be disappointed over the fact they’re still pretty much stuck with their same old self. The mortal in the mirror might look better, but if they haven’t taken stock and gotten rid of negative thinking about themselves, they won’t really feel better—they’ll just have a perfect sexy cleft in their chins or larger boobs that they didn’t have before.

Cosmetic surgery is not something to undertake lightly or to be used as a method for changing your life, but when done to enhance your life and give you a feeling of satisfaction and/or pleasure, then by all means, find a properly licensed cosmetic surgeon.

Ask for their advice and counsel, as well as their credentials and experience in whatever procedure you want to have done. If the fit between your desires and the cosmetic surgeon’s expertise is right, by all means, have your cosmetic surgery and enjoy—just don’t anticipate it to change your life!

Now ask yourself, how much time and money have you spent trying to live up to the cultural saint of female beauty? Each year Americans spend over $40 billion on dieting. People place big life energy into studying the latest diet, planning menus, agonizing over food choices, depriving themselves, and doing forms of exercise they don’t even enjoy. There is so much more to life than the endless quest to make the body look like the cultural beauty ideal.

It doesn’t have to be that way. Before the dieting craze began, people defined themselves much more by who they were and what they did in the world. They spent their life energies enriching the world around them instead of spending their time trying to look beautiful. They focused on their family, their community, and their one-of-a-kind talents.

Today women are subtly taught to define themselves strictly by how they look. And the look we’re taught to desire isn’t even obtainable. Only 5% of women are underweight, yet 87% of the actresses we see on TV are. And models? Not only are their pictures heavily airbrushed to remove any “flaws”, they generally stand 5’9″ and weigh 110 pounds. The average American woman, at 5’4″ and 140 pounds just isn’t ever going to look like that plasticized model no matter how hard she tries.

Some of the time and money we spend trying to look like those actresses and models could be much superior spent living a great life. There is a unhappiness in the desperate quest for beauty. It’s unsettling to see celebrities starving themselves into emaciated bodies. How much more graceful it is to accept the wonderful bodies we were born with and place our life energies and money into making a meaningful contribution to the world around us.

We apiece have much more to give than just trying to achieve a cultural beauty standard. You are beautiful right now, exactly as you are.

Take your life back from the media machine. You are more than the “look” you present to the world. Inside apiece one of us live hopes, dreams, talents, and the potential for a joyful, rich life. Life goes by fast. Make it a wonderful experience instead of a quest for unattainable beauty and thinness.