Rise and shine!  What a great expression that is.

Don’t just get up in the morning, rise and shine.  Make it a great day for those around you.  This includes the new people you meet in the course of your day as well as those you know.  A simple smile to someone walking towards you or a friendly greeting to the bus driver or sales clerk.  It is easy to shine, to share your own happiness and talents.

I’ve always loved the stories of Winnie the Pooh and to hear him exclaim as he got up in the morning,  “Ho hum, I wonder what great thing will happen to me today.”  When we arise with that positive attitude in the morning, it is easy to rise and shine.  We are ready and eager to discover the day and the adventures it will bring – and to greet it with open arms of enthusiasm.

Bonnie Fatio

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Healthy Hair

The condition of our hair contributes to our personal image and age-esteem.  As we get older, our hair often begins to thin and we may even lose much of it.  (Good news for women. Typically, although women may lose hair, they rarely become bald like men do.)

What can you do to help your hair thrive?

• Brush your hair frequently to help the circulation go to the head. It will strengthened your hair, make it shiny and help prevent hair loss.
• Be sure to get enough iron in your diet.  Iron is very important in keeping hair healthy and to avoid hair loss. Iron is found in spinach, liver, shellfish, red meat and soybeans.

Note: Studies have shown that older people with a high iron content have the same type of brain activity as younger adults.

Grandma Nature

Bonnie Health Factors, Inner and Outer Beauty age-esteem, hair loss, healthy hair, iron, thinning hair

At dinner the other evening a friend in his 50’s shared his attraction to the beauty in older women.  He had just seen a woman in her 70’s who he was genuinely drawn to.  He said that she had the same beauty and special sparkle that Audrey Hepburn had.  As a woman of 66 I have to admit that it was refreshing to hear a good looking, intelligent  man admit to being attracted to someone older.

We tend to remember Audrey Hepburn as a young woman on the screen.  She was equally beautiful in her later years and continued to have that special inner glow.  The picture above was taken during her time as Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) from 1988 to 1993 when she died.

Audrey Hepburn remains a wonderful AgeEsteem role model.

• She remained active with a purpose,  helping children throughout the world.
• Her joy of living was contagious via her smile, that also smothered her wrinkles.
• She was not afraid to do what she knew to be right.
• She lived her values.

Bonnie AgeEsteemers, Inner and Outer Beauty

Show genuine interest in others:

• Become an active listener when speaking with someone.  Look them in the eyes and show genuine interest in what they say. Participate actively. Nod your head, repeat a word or two in confirmation.   Ask questions. Remain focused on them.

• Keep in mind that everyone is interesting.  It is up to you to find how they are interesting.

• Be prepared with conversation starters.

You will be surprised at how much you learn.  And you will also be remembered as a great conversationalist whether you actually spoke or not.  Most important is that when you are genuinely interested you become more interesting to the other person and it enhances your beauty.

Let your inner essence shine.  Show genuine interest in others.  Be beautiful you!

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Live your values: Does it surprise you to find values at the heart of beauty?  Our values are the basis of who we are, our inner essence.  Living in harmony with our values is crucial to freeing our inner beauty and enhancing our age-esteem.

• List 20 values that are important to you.  What couldn’t you live without? – honesty, money, love, adventure, family, harmony?  Prioritize the top 10.

• How are these values present in your life today?  Are some absent?  Are there conflicts between your job or relationships and your values?

• Plan how to build your values into your life more.

Your inner essence, and therefore your beauty, depends on living in harmony with your values.

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Wear clothes, make-up and hair styles that make you feel good. – That give you some pizzazz!

• What colors and styles of clothes make you feel smart and attractive when you step out?  These are the ones to wear.  Forget the latest fashion or color if it doesn’t fit.   Modernize with an accessory in the latest color.
• Play around with your hair and make-up until you find a style that fits you.  Get professional help from the artists at the cosmetic counters and salons or test color shampoos and try different looks with your own make-up.

Your goal is to feel attractive and in harmony with who you are.  You’ll know what feels right.  Emphasize your qualities.

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We all have moments when we feel truly beautiful.  (Men can feel “beautiful”, too!)

Surprise yourself feeling beautiful:

• Ask yourself why you feel this way.  What are the circumstances?  Did someone just praise you?  Are you doing something you love, wearing your favorite outfit, coming from the hair dresser, with good friends, or on your way to meet someone special?
• Use this knowledge to reproduce that feeling.  What is the expression on your face?  How are you standing or moving?  What are you wearing?  Where are you?  Who is with you?
• When you want to recapture that special feeling of beauty, flash back to the way you felt when you surprised yourself feeling beautiful.   Recreate that feeling as you bring it into the present.  Let that “feeling beautiful” state permeate your being. 

Has this ever happened to you?  Share your experiences with us via the comments.

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Not everyone will think that you are beautiful or handsome and it doesn’t matter.  Most important is how you feel about myself.  Tap into your inner essence, your confidence and age-esteem.  That is the key to AgeEsteem beauty – and it’s applicable to every age.

Highlight your physical qualities:

• Admire your face in the mirror.   What are the highlights of your beauty? Is it your eyes, hair, freckles, dimple, lips?  Emphasize these positive qualities.  Let them shine.

• Do the same with the rest of your body.  You want styles that will emphasize your long neck or lovely arms.

• Consider the physical qualities other people compliment you on.  Do they correspond with the ones you identified?  If not seek to highlight them as well.

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Today I use a bit more make-up than in past years and seek professionals specializing in colors and styles.  But the truth is that it’s not necessarily when I am made up to be most elelgant or have just had my hair done that I am most attractive.

When do others find me most attractive?  It’s when I feel happy, doing something I love, with people I care for and making the most of the moment.  It’s when I’m in harmony with the genuine me and my inner essence. – Knowing who I am, loving myself for better and for worse, and feeling confident at the age I am.  That’s what makes me most attractive.

The make-up, clothes and accessories simply enhance my inner essence and age-esteem.

The make-up, clothes and accessories simply enhance my inner essence and age-esteem.

What do you think makes you beautiful?

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Choose Clothes That “Do Something For You”

In order to connect with your inner beauty, become conscious of how you feel about yourself in the clothes you wear.

What clothes make you feel exceptionally good?  Have you ever seen a suit that you really liked, tried it on and felt like a million bucks in it?  Clothes don’t make the person, but they do make a difference!

Choose clothes and accessories that “do something for you”.  If you feel exceptionally good in a particular suit or dress, then it does something for you.  It sets off your age-esteem and confidence.  You not only feel attractive wearing it, you become attractive to others!

Bonnie Inner and Outer Beauty age-esteem, AgeEsteem, attractive, clothes, confidence