You're exactly right. When I try to make myself look attractive, I aspire to my own standards (and my wife's). When others try to make themselves look attract

You're exactly right. When I try to make myself look attractive, I aspire to my own standards (and my wife's). When others try to make themselves look attractive, they aspire to their different standards. We modify a lot of things about our own looks, which may not be as blatant as hair dye: clothing, hairstyle, makeup, facial hair, eyewear, and of course our own facial expressions. This means others have a lot of opportunity to boost themselves according to their standards, and penalize themselves according to mine. Likewise, I'm more likely to have a "good life" than others by my own definition. I'm more likely to be "educated" than others in the fields which I consider education important. I'm more likely to find the "right balance" between work and family, or between present and future, or between hope and realism, because I'm aspiring to exactly the point which I consider "right". Generally, people tend to do better according to their own standards than others' standards, and are thus more likely to be "above average".