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The psychology of anti-aging
First we have to say the magic words..!
"Aging is optional!"
Start by repeating that till you believe it, because all achievement starts with a belief that it is possible. Organize your life so you don't get out of bed until you want to. The possession of an alarm clock, and all the evils that result from such a device, such as a day job, is the worst thing going for wrinkles!
Be self employed and delegate, or work on the web. Much cellular repair goes on while sleeping, and just being awake more leads to more stress and thus more wrinkles. I sleep as much as I like and I never work for anyone else. I'm not married. Married people tell me being married has a lot to do with getting wrinkles (although married men live longer than single guys - so perhaps this only applies to women).
The perception of age
Its all about perception - other people's.
If, when someone first meets you, you are blowing up the enemy in your favourite online game, while whooping with glee and listening to McFly, unless you have white hair and a jawline down to your mid-chest region they percieve you as under thirty no matter what!
If you do this while sat on a cushion on the floor they'll think you are under 25. Grownups sit in chairs, youngsters sit on the floor. Everyone knows that.
Run down the street if you feel like it. Climb over gates and fences. Make sure you are in real danger of accidentally flashing your underwear at least once a day! Go out in the rain without an unbrella. Listen to rap till you actually like it. Being young is supposed to be about having <>fun and 'fun' is 'getting into trouble on purpose'! Go find some.
Clothes
Be cautious about participating in a revival of any fashion you were part of the first time. Its OK if you are bag and facial hollow-free, but otherwise you could end up looking as if your fashion sense shows more patience than timing!
Get an artistic friend around the same age you would like to look. Tell them you really admore their taste in clothes and would they go clothes shopping / to the hairdressers with you. Then go and no arguing! Its too easy to unconsciously keep trying to look the same way we did at 25, with only minor concessions to current fashion. What you need is a complete change of zeitgeist every three years and leave the ego behind. You might end up 'not looking like you'.
But I won't look like me!
A fashion model doesn't look like herself either by the time the professionals have finished with her - thats the whole idea. You will still be you. That over-identification of the ego with the appearance was how come you looked so dated in the first place.
I used to be a professional model. The thing I used to find the most fun of all was looking into a big mirror with all my colleagues after the hair, makeup and styling had been done - then wondering which one was me! No it didn't bother me. An image is something to take on and put off at will. The reason models look so good isn't because they are so young - a lot are not so young these days. Its lighting, makeup and 'professional help'.
So, quit worrying about changing your self image and start worrying about what happens when you don't change it! If you want to change the age you are percieved to be you will set aside all preconcieved ideas. Unless you are exceptionally artistically gifted this will take someone else's perspective - it is difficult to see yourself objectively when you have seen yourself every day of your life.
What if I don't?
I'm sure you've all seen the Big Hair Brigade. To pinch a phrase from Quentin Crisp - you can safely 'assume they scored their last social triumph' in 1986. There is an entire economy geared towards making those people look expensively ridiculous and 'good for their age'. With too many facelifts and not enough filler, generally.
They spend so much no-one dare tell them how awful they look (even for their age). Put it this way, if you shake your head and your hair stays exactly where it is, either you are part of the punk revival or you need a new hairdresser.
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