There’s a poignant scene in the Barbie movie when Margot Robbie’s character, Barbie, sits on a bench next to an older woman. Barbie is dejected, crying, her shiny blonde bubble having been burst by existential wonderings, which neither her Dream House, her Ken, or her coif can nullify.

The older woman beside Barbie exudes the confidence of vulnerability, experience, and age. The beauty of her humanity is so striking to Barbie that she tells the woman so. Her bench partner replies, “I know.”

It’s worth noting that Greta Gerwig, the film’s creator, declined the urging to delete the scene, saying that without it, she wasn’t sure what the film’s message was.

But of course the recommendation would have been to remove the scene; our society celebrates shininess while overlooking shine. After all, shine is not a marketable commodity.

Shininess, on the other hand, is sold to us in spades: Buy the right status symbols of trendy clothes and covetable bags; drive the right car, belong to the right clubs; wear the best makeup and skincare, achieve the perfect look and you’ll communicate to the world that you are important and in the know and surely you’ll be happy, we’re told.

Instead, what we find is that the endless pursuit of a shiny exterior only convinces us that we are unremarkable without increasing amounts of it.

Shine is different. When you love and accept yourself on a deep level–not for what you look like but for who you are–you kindle an internal light that does not hinge on external factors. When you are tapped into the truth of your worth, show up authentically, and communicate directly, you allow the essence that is you to shine with a radiance that disarms, and that inspires others to beam as well.

Shininess is perpetually dimming and dulling.

Shine grows stronger and brighter as you work to connect with yourself.

One is a futile pursuit that leaves you with less than you started with; the other is a relationship that provides increasing empowerment and fulfillment.

Barbie ultimately chooses to pursue the latter. Which will you?