Life is too short to loose time complaining. It gets us nowhere. And usually our complaints act as scapegoats for another problem: lack of a personal image of confidence and age-esteem. It’s not too late to change this image.

Reinforce your confidence and age-esteem!

Focus on your qualities. Often it’s easier to see qualities in others than in ourselves. Recognize yours! You have many.

• List your talents, skills and qualities. Don’t be bashful. Pretend you’re writing a recommendation for this person who is you. Keep the list where it’s visible. Read it often and add to it.
• Keep a journal of praise. Write down the praise you receive. No matter how minor it may seem, when someone praises you write their words in your journal. Copy praise received electronically or via the post into your journal. Refer to it as a confidence booster.
• Flash yourself a smile when you pass a mirror and remind yourself of one of these qualities as though saying it to your best friend: “You organize great events!”…

Soon this will become second nature to you as you accentuate the positive and build your own AgeEsteem for the soul.

Abundance is a mental state. It’s not because we have less that we are poor. While visiting rural areas in several countries I’ve been struck by the generosity among those who have the least. They share their meager “abundance” with pride.

Express gratitude. Be thankful. Expressing gratitude for your blessings, however great or small, has a multiplying effect. The more we identify what we have to be thankful for the more abundance we attract.

• Before you go to sleep at night, identify three things you are thankful for: meeting someone new, talking to your grandchild, attending your first opera, having enough to food and water to see you through the day…
• On waking in the morning revel in the present of today. It is yours to unwrap and to live as you wish. That’s why it’s called the “present”. How will you make the most of it?
• Before beginning your day, remind yourself of three new blessings: feeling thankful for a bed to sleep in, hearing birds sing, friends, family, being alive… Make this a habit!

No matter what you are thankful for, the simple act of expressing gratitude is powerful. As we express gratitude, we discover how much more we have to be thankful for – and our abundance actually increases!

You control your life. Only you can decide how you will think and act in any situation. Even the decision to breath is yours!

Acknowledge it’s your choice.

• Remind yourself often « It’s my choice how I think and act. I am in control.» Repeat this to yourself when you step into a new situation, lack confidence or feel threatened.
• Flash back to positive experiences where you were confident and in control. Relive those experiences in the present. Focus on what you can repeat from each positive experience.
• Stretch yourself to try something new each day. Try wearing that new color. Speak to a stranger. If it makes you feel uncomfortable, it’s a good sign. You are opening your blinders and stretching your boundaries.

With these three easy steps you will already move beyond your self-limiting thoughts. There is no limit.

Would you like to wear a particular color or style but think you’re too old or too young? Do you worry about wrinkles and question whether you should invest in surgery or injections? Are you concerned about losing your job and being too inexperienced or over qualified to find a new one in today’s market?

Whenever we self-limit ourselves due to age we put on blinders to the opportunities surrounding us, opportunities that wait for us to open our eyes to them.

Too often people think that when a door closes, it’s the end. They’re again wearing blinders to opportunities, and to their own potential. AgeEsteemers know that although doors may be closed, they are never locked. It’s up to us to push them open.

Begin to grow your own AgeEsteem for the soul now, at the age you are today

Cultivate a positive attitude. People with age-esteem are happy, optimistic and share a positive attitude. The glass is always half full.

• Catch people doing good. Make a game of finding the qualities in people around you. Once you focus on the positives you’ll find even more.
• Keep a positive talk diary. Become conscious of what you say to yourself in thoughts and words spoken out loud. Each time you catch yourself saying something negative like « I can never remember names », change it into a positive, « I can remember every name I set my mind to ». Repeat the positive statement out loud. Do this regularly so it becomes second nature.

As it becomes second nature for you to seek positives, you’ll be amazed at the positive impact it has on all aspects of your life. Your AgeEsteem life force will draw more positive people and events to you!

The closest synonym for the word soul as it relates to AgeEsteem is « life force »: impulse of life, vital spirit, life essence. AgeEsteem is what keeps that inner force alive. It’s a way of life.

Simply put, AgeEsteem is feeling good about yourself at the age you are today, every day. It’s opening your life force to opportunities to develop your potential at every age. AgeEsteem is tuning into your life force for a positive approach to living.

Begin to develop your AgeEsteem life force.

Let’s face it. Many of us have been living on a superficial income and the economy has allowed us to extend ourselves beyond our means.

At the end of 2008, American’s credit card debt reached $972.72 billion, including both general purpose credit cards and private label credit cards not owned by a bank and the average credit card debt per household, regardless of whether or not they have a credit card was $8,329. (Nilson Report, April 2009 from CreditCards.com statistics.)

Take control of your finances. Less can be better – living within your means – no debt interest – less stress – touching down with basic values.

Reduce Expenditures: It may be easier than you think.

• Make a budget for the coming six months and stick to it. This will help you to reduce spending and oblige you to reassess your lifestyle.
• Think creatively to reduce expenditures. Organize a swap session to exchange clothing and sports equipment. Invite your date for a picnic at sunset. Walk or bicycle shorter distances. You may very well find that you become a less stressed, happier, healthier you!
• Remember that you are never too young or too old to control your expenses. Begin now!

A recession touches all of us. Meet it with confidence and age-esteem. It’s an ideal opportunity to join forces with others of all generations to buy in bulk, share equipment and give mutual support.

A trait that smart people have in common is that they know that they don’t know everything; nor do they pretend to be experts where they are not. You will note that successful people seek professional guidance from people who do have the expertise that they need in a particular situation. This is also true in a recession.

We sometimes think that it is too expensive. It will cost to much. Think how much more it might cost you if you do not get expert help. Too often people assume that a younger expert doesn’t know what she’s talking about because of lack of experience or an older expert is out of touch. Let your age-esteem focus on the expertise rather than age.

Seek Professional Guidance: Be smart. Seek professional expertise to minimize the risk surrounding your fears, to begin to reduce or eradicate any debt, and to create a plan for your future financial health. Many services are available at little or no expense. Check with your local Chamber of Commerce or United Way office. You will also find possibilities on the web under free financial guidance.

Educate Yourself: A good complement to follow up on your work with a professional is to find ways to educate yourself on financial matters. There are courses offered at your local university, on-line, and through television as well as books. Discover what is offered in your community.

Be smart. Seek professional guidance and learn to take control of your own financial health in the future.

During a recession it is normal to have concerns. It is even healthy. But to worry is counter productive. Worry is emotional and drains energy. Age-esteemers are concerned. Concern is intellectual and leads to solutions. Concern removes itself from your emotions so you can deal directly with the facts.

Financial fears often surface and take over your thoughts during a recession. Take control of these financial fears. Deal with them objectively.

Identify your financial fears:

• Write down what scares you about your present situation and why.
• Be very honest with yourself.
• Ask yourself, “What is the worst that could happen if this financial fear were to become reality?” Often the worst is not as bad as we think. The act of looking seriously at the answer already helps to put the fear into perspective.
• Now ask yourself, “What can I do to reduce the risk of this happening?” Begin acting on this immediately.
• Begin to prepare a plan of action with an alternative action plan if the worst should happen.

Take this exercise seriously and begin to act on reducing your risks objectively.
Prepare your plan of action for the worst case scenario. By identifying your financial fears and taking action, you will conquer those fears.

A recession is not the end of the world. In fact it’s a normal fluctuation in the business cycle which has peak periods and low periods. But this one touches people we know. Let’s face it, it touches you and me! The good news is that we can do something about it.

Know your finances: Knowledge is power. Have you been relaxed about keeping track of what your assets are worth and how much you spend? Find out exactly what shape your finances are in. What do you have and what do you owe? If you haven’t already done so, do this now! Only when you know what your present situation is can you do something about it.

Have you been spending all that you earn? Have you been living beyond your income so you are carrying a heavy debt? Or have you put money aside each month to build a financial cushion? No matter how hard your pocketbook has been hit, decide that you will learn from this experience. This is a wake-up call for young and old.

Let’s listen to it and learn from it in order to prepare for the future.