Body image plays a proverbial role in how we perceive aging. There is a direct correlation between the image you have of your body and self esteem. The better you feel about your own physical body, the better you’ll feel about aging in general.
Even if you have high self esteem, constantly fighting an ongoing battle with age can leave you discouraged. The aging process causes you to have gray hair, wrinkles, sagging skin, and body weight gain for no particular reason.
Combine aging with a bombardment of magazine covers and TV commercials that promote and worship thinness and youthfulness, and you can end up feeling ancient before your time!
Let the little things go, and concentrate on the bigger issues. If you want to be successful, work on one target at a time and don’t strive for perfection along the way.
Look at the models we've recently seen on TV. They are THIN with a capital 'T'. I’ve not seen models this thin since ‘Twiggy’ was popular back in the 60’s.
If you want to see an example of perfection, just take a look at the latest magazine covers. They promote models that have perfect clothes, perfect make up, perfect lips, perfect legs, and perfect ‘everything’.
All that perfection makes us feel 'perfectly rotten’.
Even I used pictures with the ‘perfect look’ to compliment my web pages. Why? Because if I had used ordinary, average pictures on my pages, you probably wouldn’t think the information I offered was legitimate or useful. Why do we think this way???
It’s the mindset that we get from the distorted influence of perfection that both compels us to ‘read more’ but at the same time makes us insecure with our own body image.
What do we dislike so much about our own bodies? In a 1990 survey of 1000 average women, ages 18-60, these were the statistics:
91% wanted to change their bodies
20% were dissatisfied with their faces
45% disliked their muscle tone
35% wanted to change their breast size
40% wanted to change their overall appearance
I can only imagine those numbers would be much higher today!
Despite these finding, the main thing women really want to change about themselves is their weight. Most women actually believe that men are attracted to thinner women.
Do you perceive yourself as being overweight? (If you said ‘yes’ then answer this.)
Do you think you’re not good enough just as you are? (If you said ‘yes’ to this question, then the question becomes.)
Will you ever be good enough?
If you honestly think you’ll never be ‘good enough’ then maybe you need to change the way you think about your body image instead of worrying about your weight! The misconception's that we have about what looks good, are tremendous. Good looks won’t guarantee that you’ll have a good body image.
Let me repeat that~
Good looks won’t guarantee that you’ll have a good body image.
We all know of gorgeous women who have repeated cosmetic surgeries to ‘improve’ themselves. These people are always striving to ‘be better’, no matter how good looking they already are!
And good looks most certainly don’t mean that you’ll age more gracefully either. People who are used to getting attention for their good looks may actually have a harder time accepting aging than those who are more plain looking.
The younger we are, the more we obsess about our looks and our body image. As we age past 50 however, we become more accepting of ourselves and our bodies. We become more concerned with our health instead.
The best reward for improving your own body image is that you’ll feel more comfortable in your own skin! The more comfortable you are in your own skin, the more people will want to be around you.
With a good body image, the more younger and outgoing you’ll feel. If you're more outgoing, you're more likely to make more friends. The more friends you have, the better you’re health will be!
How to Improve Your Body Image
Give Yourself a Hug - You are a beautiful and integral part of the universe. If you lose site of that, your self image will diminish. Give yourself a good hug and remember that NO ONE is perfect! Get Real!
Beauty IS as Beauty DOES - You are only as beautiful as the work that you put into it. You can’t expect to sit around doing ‘nothing’ and look great. You do have to work at it some! Read the pages of my website to find out how to look great by working SMART and NOT HARD!
Don’t Forget - Get out pictures of yourself from 10 years ago. See how much you’ve changed. You may surprise yourself to find that you haven’t changed much at all! You may find that you actually look better now than you did then! (I personally think I got better looking with age~) Looking at older pictures may make you think twice about the accuracy of your own self perception.
Shop By Comparison - When you go out to a restaurant or mall, look at the different people. Take careful note of all the different body types you see. Are these the same women you see on magazine covers or are they more average looking? By comparison, I think you’ll find that you aren’t as bad looking as you thought!~
Don’t Be a Perfectionist - If you want a good body image, don’t strive for perfection. You will never be able to attain it. Let the little things go, and concentrate on the bigger issues. If losing weight is your goal, don’t worry as much about the cellulite on your legs. Lose the weight first, then work on the cellulite. If you want to be successful, work on one target at a time and don’t strive for perfection along the way.
Be Willing To Sweat - Exercise is vital. I know I repeat this often on my web pages, but it’s the truth. Be willing to exercise some. Don’t make it harder than it has to be. Bicycling, walking, swimming, and weight bearing exercises can really make a difference. You don’t need a lot of exercise everyday. Just 20-30 minutes, 3 times a week, is sufficient for most people. Be sure to alternate aerobics with weight bearing exercises.
Dress for Success - Wear clothes that are worthy of you! Make sure your clothes, makeup, and hair style compliment your figure. If you are overweight and wear clothes that are too small, you'll only look larger and more out of proportion. Practice good grooming too.
After all, cleanliness is next to Godliness!~
Having a great body won't guarantee that you'll have good self esteem, however its never too late to become physically fit. Exercise can make you feel elated by raising endorphin levels. Your health will benefit overall and you'll feel better about your body image!
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