10 Secrets to Aging Gracefully

The secret to aging gracefully is not found in a jar of anti-aging cream.

It's your thoughts and your actions that can have a huge impact on how you age. Here’s my top 10 secrets to aging gracefully:

• Wherever you go, make sure your shoulders are back and your breasts lead the way. My mother was right when she nagged me about sitting up straight and walking tall. Maintaining a straight, elongated posture is essential to aging gracefully. Be careful not to hunch over when you walk or look downward and dejected. Instead, walk as if you have a wire through your spine that is pulling you up to the ceiling. It will shave years off your age as you get older.

• Emulate celebrities and other fabulous women who are successfully defying the aging process. Pick your favourites, then study how they dress and how they live. In professions where youth is prized, these celebs are choosing to master the art of aging gracefully. I love Jane Fonda’s take on getting older:  "Look at aging as ascending a staircase, you gain well-being, spirit, soul, wisdom, the ability to be truly intimate and live a life with intention.

• Amplify your personal style and say no to drab, boring clothes. Show some skin and outline your figure. Experiment with colour, accessories, as well as different shapes and styles. Spending time on your appearance will make you feel beautiful from the inside out. Make a lasting impression by showing how fabulous you are with your clothes. Be unforgettable.

• Exercise is mandatory as you get older, no matter how tired or lazy you feel. It not only keeps your bones strong, it helps you get a good night's sleep and minimizes the shrinkage in the brain caused by inactivity. Find exciting ways to keep active and you will feel energized every day.

• Proactively make new friends. Often. Always be interested in meeting new people. Having friends is extremely important for your health and happiness. So are making new ones. Create a social calendar full of a wide circle of lively, smart, fun and interesting people who adore being around you. Better to age well and be loved by many.

• Are you noticing new aches and pains? Never tell yourself that how you feel today is the new normal. Remember, it’s always in your power to change the way you feel for the better.

• Live longer by hanging out with young people. And I don’t mean just your grandchildren.  It’s vital to absorb the youthful energy of others who are 10 to 20 years your junior.

• Never lose your childish enthusiasm for life. To quote the words of Federico Fellini:  “No matter what happens, always keep your childhood innocence. It's the most important thing.” 

• Travel whenever you can. Travel to engage the world. To connect. Don't just travel to go places. Travel to dive into yourself and into other cultures. Travel to learn new things about the world you live in. That kind of travel makes you feel youthful, vibrant and gloriously alive.  

• And remember: always use sunscreen. All those celebs that look drop-dead amazing in their 40's, 50's and beyond? They are obsessive about using sunscreen.

Annie Pool is the Victoria Regional Director for Fabulous@50 and is the winner of the 2015 Unlimited Woman of New Beginnings. In the past year she has successfully overcome cancer, became an International Best Selling Author, and is the first official licensee for Fabulous@50.

Her greatest passion is to inspire other women like herself to see their own hidden, unlocked potential so that they can believe their dreams can come true, too, even beyond their wildest imagination!

The fabulous woman in the  photo is the legendary Carmen Dell’Orefice, the oldest working model in the world. Carmen has been strutting her stuff for nearly 70 years and still wears high heels at the age of 82 (the knee replacement notwithstanding).