The Art of Aging wisely and how to confront the Enemy

Part 2

It’s not all about looks

Hello, wise Bond girl. Did you read my latest blog? Could you relate to the struggle with aging and did you discover your sense of humor and wisdom to respond to the unstoppable evolution of aging with ease and lightness? I really hope so, because real beauty is not just a facade.

The Art of Aging Part 2I must admit that I am conscious of my own looks. It is important to me to look the best I can. What do I mean by looking good? Of course, I like to dress up and polish my look. But what gives me the real kick has nothing to do with fashion or make-up. I love the days when I feel connected with myself and I am in balance. I feel that this inner balance shows on the outside. It has nothing to do with feeling younger, but I like what I see in the mirror and this is a happy middle aged woman who has kept a certain glow and shine. This is what I like to see in myself and this is what makes my day. If then I encounter disapproval or non-recognition, such as I described in the little anecdotes in my last blog, I can easily live with it. I can develop the sense of humor needed to deal with it, because I am in a good place in my life.

This leads to the question: Is beauty visible to everybody?’ It takes certain skills to see through the façade and discover the true value. Not everybody is able to see what is not obvious.  There is a saying, ‘Not all that shines is gold’. For us women, this means we can use as much make-up as we like, we can wear the coolest fashion and slim down to model sizes and we will still not be beautiful. Isn’t that weird? Fashion magazines show us exactly that and pretend it is called beauty. They are wrong. They show us the world of glamor and fill our hearts with envy, but all they show us is façade.

Once women understand that facades have no depth and are rather misleading, women will begin the real make-up – a make-up of their inner values. What makes us beautiful is who we are and what we represent in the meaning of virtues, emotional skills and personality. Yes, you will say, that is what they all say. It is the inner beauty that counts, but then by the end of the day, the young and beautiful woman gets the promotion, or the sexy lady gets all the attention. How can inner beauty help me to succeed in my life?

As I said, the problem is that many people out there do not have the ability to recognize real beauty and they make their decisions based purely upon appearances. We cannot change this stupidity and incompetence by complaining and feeling sorry for ourselves. Not everybody gets it, and that is o.k. It is on you to decide whether you let these disappointments get under your skin or if you simply take it with humor and maybe compassion for these innocent, misguided souls.

Your choice is to stay true to yourself and be authentic and real. Of course, we make sure we look our best, but that is not the key to success and accomplishment. The main challenge we have is to work on being a beautiful woman from the inside. Being beautiful means for example being real, showing glow, feeling confident, making smart choices, having a great sense of humor, expressing love and simply embracing the person you are. The more you are in tune with who you are, the more others will be in tune with you. When you feel good about yourself, others will find it much easier to like you. When you are feeling beautiful as a woman, others will look at you the same way (a few dumb exceptions just confirm the rule). As a result, creating beauty is a simple yet nonetheless tough challenge. It is so much easier to dress sexy and wear glamorous make-up than restoring your inside. It takes much more effort to find inner balance and build self-confidence than to dress up for an occasion.

If you are willing to work and create your own beauty, you will not only convince the outside world, but you will become a much happier person. This new person reveals an ageless beauty that can compete with anything and everybody if necessary. This ageless beauty glows like the first morning light. It brings beauty and guidance to the world and grows into the glorious light that makes it so unique.

Be a woman and act like one.

In the last part of the series, I would like to talk about older women I love and adore and what we can learn from them.

Part 3:

Finally over 50!

An homage to the women over 50 and older – much, much older

About Hertha Wolff-Arend

I am a business coach and writer located in Paso Robles, California. I am the author of the book Be a woman and act like one. Succeeding in business and life’’ and I write a blog for women with the same title. I give motivational speeches and offer leadership and personality trainings to women. I also work with business owners and managers to support them in their leadership skills and personal development. As a strategic consultant, I also help companies with their communication and marketing strategy. Born and raised in Germany, I spent most of my adult life in Europe. I have a German university degree in languages and economics and I worked for many years in the advertising industry as one of the few female managing directors in Germany for major international advertising agencies such as Young&Rubicam, TBWA and Bates. My client list consisted of mainly blue chip clients, where I was responsible for their communications strategies and the development and execution of the advertising concepts. Just to name a few clients: Lufthansa, Danone, Kraft Foods, Bosch, Singapore Airlines, Ericsson, Campbells etc. In 2004 I relocated with my husband and son to California. I graduated from New Venture West in San Francisco as a Certified Integral Coach and started my own coaching practice in 2007. I am fluent in German and English and have conversational skills in Spanish. Aside from my dedication to work and family, I am a passionate dressage rider. I am devoted to supporting women in business, with a focus on women in the lower and middle management who are aiming at a career in the higher ranks or who want to develop their own business.
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One Response to The Art of Aging wisely and how to confront the Enemy

  1. Mónica F. Fischer says:

    Yes, yes, yes!!! It is so true – your inner balance or imbalance shows on the outside, you carry it in your aura, in your gestures, in your charisma. It is definitely something oneself is responsible for, sometimes easier than others, but such is life and it is such a great wonderful uplifting feeling if you´re in balance with yourself. Can´t wait to read part 3.

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