Sex Sells! And why...

This, dear readers, is a copy of my latest "Psychology Today"!

Needless to say it is an attention getter-
I browsed through it during lunch yesterday, glad to have a quiet moment to myself to indulge in reading. There were some very interesting articles in there that caught my attention.

It talks to beauty-
What it means to men and women.
Lets face it. I am a health and beauty fanatic. I like beautiful people and things and I like to put my most beautiful self forward. Granted, it is not the only thing on my agenda daily, but I do attend to my appearance and my dress. I work out like a fiend to stay in shape. I eat healthy and fat in any food is fast becoming my natural enemy. Not only for beauty but also for health reasons. I spend a hefty amount in smell good products, lotions and potions, shampoos, body mists, fragrance sprays, linen sprays, air sprays. I also spend lavishly on my wardrobe. I think nothing of dropping a hefty buck on a well cut jacket or Jimmy Choo's!

Grooming is important to me. I wax, shave, thread, brush, primp, dye, cut, and paint. I sound like a wood floor or a lawn now, don't I? But- and it is a very big but. IT IS WORTH IT.

I feel good. I look good. I smell good. And people notice.

Now I am not saying you have to cater to a specific size constraint. But honestly every one and every size CAN put their best face forward. Pick an outfit that accentuates your physique. Know your best features and draw attention to them. Good hygiene is for you and not others. There is no reason why you should have hang nails and split ends simply because something else in your life took priority. What is a more important priority that YOU??? It is NOT selfishness- It is self care.

Beauty starts with good health- GOOD MENTAL HEALTH!
LOVE THE BODY YOU ARE IN. Appreciate it. Attend to it. Paint it, primp it, work on it. Treat it right. Give it the conditioning, exercise, nutrition, attention, acceptance it deserves. Because YOU are worth it. The pay off is the best reward ever.

And yes- a well groomed, well attended to body ALWAYS gets the deal-

The current issue also spoke to "being too beautiful".

Yes, ladies and gentlemen-there is a cost to beauty-
You will get discriminated AGAINST for being beautiful. I speak from experience. I have been put down for dressing well, for being slender, for being ME. Beautiful people are at a disadvantage sometimes. In terms of evolutionary perspective, we become cave people. There are limited resources out there and we are competing for them. Men/women/attention/love/affection/money/jobs- you name it and we are in the market and in competition for it. But it is a price I am aware I pay sometimes and it is worth it. There are always other alternative options. In a competitive market one must compete and looking good is a universal asset.

We want to deny it. But let's face it. We are all vain. We all love it when we look good. We are all jealous of someone more beautiful than us. We secretly want to look good- but are we willing to pay the price. The price to looking the BEST you is doing the work. It doesn't just happen. You don't roll out of bed, eat chocolate and buttered noodles all day, lay around getting no exercise, and expect to look your best. It won't happen. It takes work, and commitment. Dedication, planning, restraint, delayed gratification- just like everything else in life. Beauty takes WORK!

I stated to a guy I met the other day who was on the phone with me- "I have to get off the phone so I can get changed and hit the gym!" His response, "You don't look like you need to go to the gym!" I chuckled to myself and replied- "You think that and I LOOK like that BECAUSE I go to the gym all the time!"

Later as I puffed and panted through my weights, while my darling angel was in child care, I thought- yes, I look like this and I can run up several flights of stairs without getting winded, and spend my day in high heels, and keep up with a kid and have a strong back to do all the moderately heavy lifting and moving of furniture that I do- I do that all because I bust my ASS at the gym.

My clothes fit better. I have more stamina. I have a strong back and am not complaining of physical ailments. I am in good health. BECAUSE I work out, BECAUSE everything I eat is fat free. Because I eat like that mostly, I can occasionally indulge in chocolate and buttered noodles and my favorite desserts and ice-creams. It is about balance. It is about acceptance. It is about LOVING yourself. It is not about achieving PERFECTION. Simply about perfecting the art of achievement. And achieving the BEST YOU!

Go be beautiful-
Ciao