The Defy Aging Newsletter

Anti-aging psychology, holistic health, and wellness

a biweekly e-mail newsletter for helping you think, feel, look, and be more youthful and live with purpose.

Number 127

This issue:

Smile Lines

ACTION TO TAKE

Imagine the face you want to have thirty years from now.

WHY

Planning experts advise visualizing the result you want. Focusing on the end result helps with motivation and holds up a picture to your brain saying, "This is what I want."Remember times when you've studied faces? There are some great wonderful old faces that sparkle. No matter how many wrinkles they have, they glow with warmth, energy, enthusiasm, and kindness. Then there are faces that look sour or wrinkled up like prunes. Certainly some people's heredity and facial structure put them at a disadvantage in having an engaging, loveable face. That's all the more reason they need to make sure they have smile lines rather than frown lines.

Research finds that in presidential and other political races the more optimistic candidate is more likely to win. I think research would also find the best face and best smile wins. Hence, regardless of the soundness of their thinking and plans, Ronald Reagan is more appealing than dour Bob Dole and Bill Clinton is more appealing than fretful Joe Lieberman. Perhaps the tipping point on George Bush vs. Al Gore or John Kerry was Bush's more relaxed, engaging smile.

When I watch videos of myself speaking, I am struck with the opportunities to smile more often. Who would you rather hear, someone who smiles a lot or someone who is very serious?

I'm not advocating that you permanently have a just saved smile glued on your face. The goal is to be expressive and smile much of the time. The ideal is to have the expressiveness Norman Rockwell described in President Eisenhower's face (see quote below). By the way Ike's campaign slogan was "I like Ike."

This is a long way of saying, the more you smile now, the more likely you are to have a face with great smile lines thirty years from now. Start with the end in mind and you are likely to end up with one of those sparkling, warm faces thirty years from now.

QUOTES

Eisenhower had about the most expressive face I ever painted, I guess. Just like an actor's. Very mobile. When he talked, he used all the facial muscles. And he had a great, wide mouth that I liked. When he smiled, it was just like the sun came out.

~Norman Rockwell

Nature give you the face you have at twenty; it is up to you to merit the face you have at fifty.

~Coco Chanel

Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been.

~Mark Twain

The face is the soul of the body.

~Ludwig Wittgenstein

At 50, everyone has the face he deserves.

~George Orwell

HUMOR

My face, shall we say, looks lived in.

~Ava Gardner

Did you ever wonder what is on the other side of one of those yellow smiley faces? Warning: They aren't wearing clothes an you might get mooned.

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Anti-Aging Psychology

Holistic Health and Wellness

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"Dr. Michael Brickey, The Anti-Aging Psychologist, teaches people to think, feel, look and be more youthful. He is an inspiring keynote speaker and Oprah-featured author. His works include:  Defy Aging, 52 baby steps to Grow Young, and Reverse Aging (anti-aging hypnosis CDs). Visit www.NotAging.com for a free report on anti-aging secrets and a free newsletter with practical anti-aging tips."