mind

Age gracefully……

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As a woman, I feel this extreme pressure to constantly feel like I need to look younger.  Tone up, if you will.  Make sure that I am in “perfect” condition for everyone.  Sure we all might feel like we are at our best when we look our best, but where do we draw our line?

I am young.  I am happy with my body as far as I recognize I have my problem spots and I know what I need to do to get them back in shape.  It is MY responsibility to get my body to the shape that makes me feel the best…not someone else’s expectations of “you should be as skinny as a rail, 100 lbs, your stomach’s getting pudgy work it out, you should wear make-up to the gym because heaven forbid you actually run into someone you know there, oh and your hair…um yes…grow it longer because short hair it just isn’t what women should do…it makes you look like a mom.”  I am tired of the pressure frankly.

Why is it so hard for people to face their music?  Why are we dragging our feet? Why do we feel like we have to look younger all the time?  Why is it so hard to find a wrinkle and be proud of it?  Well maybe it is a sign of people’s lack of appreciation for their age.  Do you fully embrace where you are at in the present moment?  Do you say, thank you for making me 25 years old at this very moment in time?  Or maybe your 10 or 70 years old in some cases!  No regrets, right?

To me, it is a lack of personal gratitude and appreciation for life’s journey when we force ourselves to “look” younger.  We start off as children and we “wish we were older” always….then we hit a point where we wish we could go back to that innocence.  We sit there and wish our lives away.  Seems rather silly doesn’t it?

I want to offer a little bit of “natural” solutions to looking and feeling younger (not found in a bottle of anti-aging cream or diet pills).  In no particular order:

1.  Surround yourself with people who care about you.  They support you.  They genuinely love you.

2.  Smile more.  If you smile for no good reason, I guarantee you will find a reason.  Plus, smiles brighten other’s days.  It might actually change someone’s bad day into good!

3.  Never actually act your age.  My good ol’ friend Herb taught me that.  Surround yourself by young people and you will forever feel connected and youthful.

4. Make sure that you wash your face, brush your hair and don’t smell like body odor.  One of the best ways to feel good about yourself is just simply keep good hygiene.

5. Try to make a point of doing one random act of kindness for someone daily.  When you give your effort and time to others it really pays back.  That little act could mean the world to someone.

6. Keep in touch with your friends.  Keep in touch with those who are distant old friends more so.  Just call to see how they are doing.  It makes a world of difference in your appreciation of that person in your life as well as talking about your past times keeps you youthful.

7. Talk to people of all ages.  There is someone always that has either been in your shoes, is walking your walk right now, or will be in the future.  Learn what they did, are doing, or what they might do to make the situation a little better.

8. Keep things in perspective always.  Is this really a big deal?  Is this really something that I need to worry about?

9.  Take care of our body, mind, and soul and seek balance always.  If you need to work out more to keep yourself in balance, then do what YOU have to do…keep your mental and physical health in check always.  Remember no one is perfect, so find what works for you!

10.  Pray daily and keep your God and creator at the center of your focus.  He will point you in new and amazing (sometimes amusing…) directions which will keep your mind off the aging process.  🙂  This part is the liberating part!

11. Love others genuinely with all your heart.  Keep your pride down and really work on looking past one another’s flaws.  It makes life so much better!!

I would like to end with this article I came across that I think will shed some light upon how to embrace growing older…http://www.psychologies.co.uk/news/how-to-embrace-growing-older/.

How are you going to embrace where you are at and in this very present moment?  How are you going to embrace this aging process that people consistently fighting today?

❤ The CatMan

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Shift in Focus. Adjust Perception. Change in heart.

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‎”When one focuses too much on the negative, all they see is road blocks. When one focuses on the positive, that is where one finds hope…” (me)

 

It is so easy to allow ourselves to be drug down by the muck surrounding us or listen to others that are only trying to bring us down.  Unfortunately, it is harder to be a leader than it is just to allow us to be sucked in to the abyss.  It is so easy to listen to the negative bringing us down….then we crash…If we ever expect to make it past tomorrow’s muck we must be willing to change our focus and stop listening to the outside noise.  Focus on what is good.  Focus on what we have going for us and focus on hope.  Hope is a key component to this whole situation.

One way I like to ensure that I don’t become a dirty muck pie is to visually wipe myself clean (literally take my hands and fling off the negative) and affirm myself often.  I constantly need to remind myself exactly what my purpose is.  Without affirmation, we can lose focus.  Something simple would be “I am a vessel to which God uses for His Good Works.”  I also like to personally make take my focus deep inside of me and allow God to transform from the inside out.  Think about it, this takes YOU out of it and allows Him to work His magic.  “Send my mind, body and soul into light and love” is another great affirmation.

Human’s are naturally imperfect.  We will always have flaws.   By taking us out of the mix, we are able to recognize we are a tiny part of this bigger picture.  It is amazing to understand what your purpose is and to fall in line with the circle of life!  Each little purpose that we all have is apart of a bigger entity.  We might be small, but the purpose of the small is equal of importance to the bigger picture’s results!  Without the little parts, the picture will never be fully complete!

Next key component…adjust your perception and do not make anything bigger than what it is.  You own that girl….or guy?!   This is a true test of inner peace when you can keep everything in check.  You spill coffee and it goes down the front of your shirt…take a deep breath and embrace it.  We have all been there and you know what?  Starbucks has a shirt with a “printed coffee stain” down the front of it!  You can get that for the bargain of $80 at your local department store.  Someone cancels on you, again.  OK.  Not a big deal!  That is life–so what are you going to do now?  Maybe go on a walk, or find a little cafe’ close and just observe!  Life is good remember.  It’s not the end of the world.

Now we are focused.  Everything is in check and balanced, so now what?  Now we have to make the most important change!  Change in our heart will not just happen overnight.  It takes time to get ourselves back to a state that is more enjoyable.  Let me explain….http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eefP4bG2EkI&feature=related

When we were children, we had very little to worry about and things seemed relatively easy.  Something happens to our heart as we grow up to be adults where we allow the muck of the world to steal our innocence.  Now it seems we are always stressed, always on the go, and always rushing without really taking time to smell the roses.  This is definitely a problem.  When this situation gets to this point, we are really missing out on living.  Those little things as a child we so dearly loved are now buried under adult junk.  UH OH…now what?  A change of heart is needed to keep in balance.

Start simple.  “Live simply so that others might simply live.” (Mother Teresa) Learn to notice everyone on the street, yes even the weird ones.  The people who are the most interesting are the one’s (usually) last noticed.  Dare you to talk to one!  (Oh did your mother tell you not to talk to strangers?  Well it’s fine now, you’re an adult!)  Learn to ask people questions when you don’t understand.  Learn how to give your time and knowledge to helping others succeed.  Hey they might thank you later!   Learn to get back to that child like innocence and you might just find yourself living an even more incredible life.  Take the ownership back and start living life with a purpose!

❤  CatMan  🙂