Lookin' good—the image or the truth?

"Lookin' good!" The phrase is common enough. A parent says it to a child who has just got up on skates for the first time. A basketball coach yells it as encouragement to players who are beginning to work as a team. And when you're the one who has just overcome some obstacle, it feels pretty good to be on the receiving end of these friendly words.

But what happens when "lookin' good" stops being the acknowledgment of achievement and instead becomes the goal itself? The sad fact is that when this happens, people stop thinking about doing well. Rather, they become fixated on presenting a certain image.

Many who want to feel successful, attractive, and even powerful are willing to do whatever they have to do to present that picture. Some overspend on clothes and cars, run up their credit card bills. Others indulge in cosmetic surgery or become slaves to exercise and fashion. And in the decade just ended, some businessmen and bankers were willing to lie and commit fraud for the sake of conveying an appearance of looking good, with a terrible lack of substance or truth behind it.

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