Autumn is supposed to highlight beautiful foliages adorned by glittery coats of soft sunshine and giggling in mildly chilly breezes - but this Fall, it has been pretty much just cold rains or cloudy sky in Washington.In that weather, it is not unusual that I am spending more and more time indoors, even though I have been trying to diversify that with different ambiances and venues - from cozy cafes to fun fiestas - to improve the moodiness that the outdoors inflicted upon me. As a result, I ended up in a number of interesting conversations, among which, one particularly got stuck in my head was the one I had yesterday with my friend Linh.
As we exchanged stories about our childhood and youth insecurity, Linh mentioned the blatantly obvious preferential treatment for better looking individuals. These pretty ones - athletes, beauty queens, models - could sometimes have it so easy for them that they would not need to work as hard. I recalled a basket ball player in college who, despite his mediocre academic and sport record, became the posterboy of the economics department and went on getting some offer from an accounting firm. Again, big generalization here, as many so-considered "pretty ones" worked just as hard, and some less good-looking ones did get lucky at times - and for a self-claimed social scientist, I valued some hard evidence with rigorous evaluation before jumping into conclusion.
Yet, as I was left getting ready for a birthday party after Linh had left, I couldn't help wondering to what extent look could influence the success of our lives. This puzzle became even more intriguing as I observed some interesting phenomenon at the party I went. Two slightly older Asian gentlemen - one average looking, the other outstandingly tall, dark, and somewhat handsome. As the night progressed, it seemed obvious that a crowd gradually gravitated toward the latter, while the former struggled to fit in - even though I would concede that they were roughly equal in conversational quality (ok - very bad comparison here, but you get the point!). This difference left me thinking, if look could help one be social without being considered slutty, flirty but not aggressive, forward but not creepy, then one is guaranteed an entry-point comfortable and confident enough to show his true beautiful self. In social settings, that's halfway to success already.
If professional success is partially driven by interpersonal relations, then how much can look leverage personal success? Obviously this varies in different settings - and no study, no matter how rigorous, can specify the magnitude look influence professional success. But I think it is safe to say, if one is good looking, then the good hard-earned results can be enhanced exponentially.
Too bad I will never get to that point - so right now, just have to continue the hard-working life of a consultant. Enough for the weekend, xoxo.
Photo credit: Autumn by Slime.
