Do You Really Want to Win the War against Wrinkles?

By Lynn Baber –

Who is that old woman looking at me in the mirror? I have my ‘big’ glasses on (+2.00) and as the light scores a direct hit on my face I see deep checkerboard lines and skin that can’t remember being as smooth as a baby’s posterior.

When did this happen? When did my jaw line lose its tautness? Just how far can my cheeks fall before they fall off completely? I’ve battled gravity and wrinkles for years. Apparently I have not fought hard enough because I’m losing the war.

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Facing Reality – You can’t have it all

There comes a day when you must choose between escalating your fight against aging and giving yourself permission to settle for less. If you never face the truth that eternal youth is impossible to achieve you may miss the very best part of living.

If your only goal is to be wrinkle-free and bikini beautiful you could easily spend 24/7 in that pursuit. What if your aspiration is to be a corporate star, a world-class chef, a renowned home decorator, participate in the Silver Olympics, or to earn an advanced degree?

You may realistically pursue one of those goals but it isn’t possible to accomplish any two of them with any degree of success. I don’t care what the magazines and marketing gurus would have you believe, you can’t have it all. That’s the simple truth and the bad news.

But wait! – – There is good news. It’s coming…

Allocating Scarce Resources

No matter who you are there are finite limits to your resources of time, energy, and cash. Even multi-billionaires can’t buy another minute to extend their day. Money buys stuff but not time or energy.

Christie Brinkley is gorgeous, over fifty, and does not have one more second of time available in her schedule than you do. Each one of us has to pick and choose how to spend our scarce resources because each dollar, each minute, and each oomph of effort can only be spent once.

The box in the bottom of my office closet contains manuals, DVDs, charts, and instructions for facial exercises, eye exercises, leg-toning exercises, body-sculpting, and skin care. I’ve tried them all and they all work. There is a Susan Lucci Malibu Pilates chair in my storeroom. I tried it and it works.

I have free weights, exercise bands, and a self-myofacial release roll in my closet. I’ve tried them all and they work.

The bonus room in the house we’re trying to sell still has the Total Trainer complete gym/Pilates reformer poised for action. I tried it and it works. (If anyone wants to buy it I’ll make you a heck of a deal – on the house or the gym.)

Losing the war against wrinkles

Have you seen the commercials for the Lifestyle Lift? What could be better than investing just one hour over lunch and a few thousand bucks if it will turn the wrinkle clock back ten years? I looked into it. I would gladly spare the hour, one time, but the cash and the risks just aren’t worth it.

I really haven’t invested that much cash for equipment in my war against the cowardly muscles of face and form that continue to march their dogged retreat to the south. And what about my investment in creams, supplements, and programs? Okay, now we’re talking much bigger numbers.

The many high-dollar creams I’ve tried like Kinerase and Hydroxytone, the Youthful Essence micro-dermabrasion system, the two facial exercise programs I’ve purchased (including the popular FlexEffect), my foray into dry skin brushing to fight cellulite, the T-Tapp exercise program, the See-Clearly method, and the thousand of supplements I’ve chugged by the handfuls prove that I have not been a conscientious objector in the war against aging.

Both my checkbook and my calendar have the battle scars that prove I’ve been in the war. Do all these creams, programs, and supplements actually work? Yes; to some extent they all deliver on the promises made. But there is a catch…

The one resource that trumps the rest is time.

Choose your battles wisely to maximize your quality of life

If you aren’t sure what I mean, let’s consider the daily time requirements for each of these programs.

  • FlexEffect facial exercise – 30 minutes a day
  • See-Clearly eye exercises – 30-45 minute a day
  • Any good exercise program – 45-60 minutes a day
  • Dry skin brushing and conditioning – 30 minutes a day including shower and brush cleaning
  • Skin care routines with or without self-dermabrasion – 30 minutes a day
  • Sonic-cleaning your teeth – 10 minutes a day

Just these few programs alone require three or more hours a day, every day, in order to get “the best results.” What about your manicure and pedicure? Laundering and pressing your clothes?

Do you have an extra four hours to spare every day? Twenty-eight hours a week? Fourteen hundred and sixty hours a year?

I don’t. That’s why the manuals, programs, and equipment are packed away. I have a life to live and using up all my resources fighting the battle against gravity and wrinkles just isn’t worth the time required “to get best results”.

Your quality of life depends on your relationships

Did you notice that we haven’t even mentioned relationships yet? What about the part of life that makes it worth living? No matter how beautiful, how wealthy, or how famous you are, the value of life itself is based on relationships.

Now that you know how much time is required to make any impact on wrinkles and gravity, may I ask how many hours a week you spend pursuing health and vitality in the important relationships and other activities in your life?

  • Spouse
  • Children
  • Grandchildren
  • Parents
  • Friends
  • Television
  • Surfing the Web
  • Volunteering
  • Hobbies
  • Sports
  • Shopping
  • Stewardship of home and property

How many hours each week do you set aside time to be alone with God? Aging and gravity are natural. God never intended for you to live a long life wrinkle-free. Why tilt at windmills someone else built?

Reject guilt – Give yourself permission to age gracefully

Here’s the good news I promised you. There comes a time when wisdom teaches you that doing everything possible is impossible. Don’t accept the guilt of not being the best you can be at everything you do. There isn’t enough time, money, or energy to fight more than one war.

Less really is more. Would you rather be in the running for World’s Best Grandma or the lady with the fewest wrinkles over 60? Your husband may not see the wrinkles around your eyes but he will notice the vacant place next to him on the porch swing if you’re inside creaming, pumping, or brushing.

Walk with your friends. Play with your grandchildren. Use sun block, eat well, and love your family and friends even more.

No one can balance your life but you. Spend your time, treasure, and energy wisely. Invest in relationships and not in an all-out war on wrinkles and gravity. Give yourself permission to be a beautiful woman, well-loved and precious to the lives of others.

And be sure to reserve your first and your best for God.

 

Lynn Baber is a Christian writer who shares simple messages of faith over fear by reducing complex issues into simple either/or choices. Lessons learned throughout her forty year career as a business consultant, motivational speaker, and World and National Champion horse breeder, trainer, and judge, are shared in print, in person, and in the round pen working with troubled horses. Read more on her blog, Simple truth – Simple Faith: http://lynnbaber.net/Follow her ministry message on Amazing Grays Ministry: http://amazinggraysministry.com/.

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Do You Really Want to Win the War against Wrinkles?
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