Save Some of Those Wrinkles!

by Julie Isphording

Call me crazy, but those beautiful lines on your face don’t deserve such criticism. They are beautiful markings that speak to a challenging life, a meaningful life and a life filled with surprises. 

Being wrinkle-free might be important if you are a shirt. As a person, growing older while gaining wisdom, advancing a career, raising a family and everything else should be the focal point. 

And here’s some good news. As we get older, our worry lines begin to disappear because we just don’t worry as much. These are replaced by accumulating laugh lines; and that’s something to smile about. 

The “Serenity Prayer” by Reinhold Niebuhr is a good way to make those worries lines go away along with a good dose of laughter (and good sunscreen): “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can. And wisdom to know the difference.”

Smile with your whole face — wrinkles and all! 

What is a good way to handle bad days?

“Some days you just have to put a line through the day, move on as best you can, and begin again,” says John Barrett, CEO of Western & Southern. “Everyone has days you just want to forget. However, anyone who’s successful in any field will say you always have to get past the bad to get to the good.”

What are 17 things I wish I’d known when I started working out?

• Consistency is what matters most.

Transforming your body is not the result of one big action but the accumulation of small actions stacking up over time. One step, one day at a time!

• Working out doesn’t have to be exhausting. 

“You don’t have to be miserable when you are exercising,” said Frank DeJulius with Fleet Feet. “Find something you love to do with people you like spending time with, and exercise will become play.”  

• You’ll never regret the challenging work after it’s done. 

“There’s such a good feeling in your heart when you’ve accomplished what you set out to do,” said Fred Cernetisch with Pella. “It stays with you.”

• You won’t want to do it 80% of the time! 

“There’ll be times (often a lot of them) where you’d rather do anything else but workout or hit your calorie goal,” said Charlie Hall, CEO of Alpine Valley Water. “Remember: You can do hard things so don’t give in just try harder!” 

• Perfection will stop you.

“The idea of reaching perfection can be crippling,” said Todd Steinbrink, CFP with Wealth Planning Inc. “It’s the reason people procrastinate and delay. Perfection is unrealistic in almost every situation. You don’t need to know everything. Just start and do your best.”

• You can miss a few workouts without losing all your progress. 

“Taking any time off training for injury, fatigue or life issues can feel like a backward slide, but the existing research shows you can take three to four weeks off before seeing a noticeable drop in performance,” said Mark Becker with Exercise & Leisure.

• Rest and recovery are important. 

Changing your body is a balancing act. It’s a combination of working out and resting. This should include rest days, excellent quality sleep, providing your body with water and nutritious food, and giving yourself time to relax and reflect.

• Patience is so important. 

“Weight loss and fitness almost never present themselves in a linear and organized progression, which means you can spend weeks or even months feeling like you’re not getting anywhere but you will,” said DeJulius. “Progress is the cumulative result of months of consistent work.”

• Doing 20 minutes is better than doing nothing. 

“Life is all about adjusting,” said Cernetisch. “Sometimes we cannot do exactly what we planned to do — but a short workout still makes a difference.”

• More is not better. 

“When it comes to changing your body in healthy ways, there is a point of diminishing returns where more becomes detrimental,” said Becker. 

• Time and experience win. 

“Getting from where you are now to where you want to be is simply a matter of getting more experience and applying that experience for longer,” said DeJulius. “You will amaze yourself.”

• Everything seems impossibly hard until you start. 

It is normal to fear the unknown and to see a goal as quite impossible. In fact, the bigger the goal, the more daunting the task and the harder it is to begin. The best way to overcome is to simply start and start small.

• Just focus on the next step, not the finish line. 

“The easiest way to run 5 miles is to run 1 mile 5 times,” said DeJulius. “It even sounds better!”

• Illness and injury will happen. 

“There will be times when you need to take a step back from your training due to illness or injury. “Don’t fight it,” said Becker. “Take the time you need to recover. When you’re back up to full strength, you’ll get right back to it.”

• There is no such thing as a perfect body. 

We all come in different shapes and sizes. You’re all already outrageously wonderful. Don’t forget it. 

• Reaching your goal is about priority and sacrifice. 

“Change is one of the hardest things because you must figure out what to give up in order to become who you want to be,” said DeJulius.

• Everyone struggles.

“We may think that our experiences and challenges are unique to only us, and no one else understands or feels the way we do. But in the end, we are really not so different,” said Cernetisch.Olympian Julie Isphording is the director of the Western & Southern Thanksgiving Day Race, an author, and loves to keynote speak. Her talks on living a happy life include unforgettable props, lots of laughter, and a few tears. Write to her at julie.isphording@gmail.com