A few years ago, an acquaintance of
mine whom I will refer to as Margo shared with me a disturbing story. She had
taken her healthy, independent 90-year-old aunt to the physician’s. Her aunt,
who was of sound mind and body, had been struggling with mobility due to a
deteriorating hip.

The physician examined the aunt and
agreed that she could probably benefit from a hip replacement, but because of
her age, the message was mostly “Why bother?” Margo was taken aback and
responded with some insistence, “She is quite healthy and would benefit from
this procedure for a better quality of life.”

After some resistance, the physician
agreed, made the proper referrals, and the aunt underwent surgery. Four years
later, although frailer, Margo’s aunt continues to live alone, relying on
minimal help from Margo, and walking a bit slower but independently.

Should Age Matter?

Margo has been a steady advocate for
the older adult in need of a louder voice. Several years earlier, her mother,
in her late 70s at the time, was having issues related to the heart. Medical
tests revealed that Margo’s mother needed quadruple bypass surgery.

Because of her age, the physicians
expressed hesitancy about having her mother undergo such an operation. Margo
pushed for this, and consequently, her mother underwent this complicated
procedure, recovered, and went on to live a better quality of life.

Unfortunately, Margo’s mother died
after succumbing to cancer a couple of years later, but Margo was pleased that
her efforts provided her mother with robust final few years.

The Right to Die Vs. the Right to Live

I decided to write about this because
there seems to be a movement for the right to die more than the right to live.
Being a therapist, I am well aware there has always been a way to die whether
we like it or not.

Some say by legalizing this, more
people can be euthanized with dignity or, putting it more bluntly, commit
suicide. For someone whose parents were given morphine as a way to leave their
earthly lives painlessly, I do not join the chorus of those who wish to pass
the Right to Die laws.

I was ambivalent when the question was
put on the ballot in my state of Massachusetts years ago, but after reading the
language, I voted against it. Sadly, much deception goes on, and I would be
most disheartened if innocents, because of their age, would be sacrificed “for
the greater good.”

We Have Come a Long Way

Medical innovation has come a long way
and appears to answer the calling to provide a higher quality of life. Healthy
living, new medications, and less invasive, life-saving procedures offer older
adults more choices.

Now they can live longer and in a way
unimaginable half a century ago. Sadly, our youth-oriented society continues to
deem people of a certain age obsolete.

More people like Margo are fighting
for the older adults’ right to live, and not just live, but do so with dignity
and grace. There are more organizations such as Sixty and Me, which
recognize the needs of the sexagenarian and older. Although 60 is not precisely
the new 40, in many ways, it is in the 21st century.

At one time, over the hill was deemed
to be the age of 40. Eventually, the magic number for being washed-up increased
to 60. Because of the Boomer generation, this message is changing every day,
right before our eyes. I suspect the Gen X population will push this to age 75
and forward.

Why Not?

Many years ago, my husband and I were
in the Berkshires. We were talking with an older couple, and I will never
forget something the gentleman stated. He had prostate cancer in the early
years of being a septuagenarian. His doctor said to him that maybe he should
forgo treatment because of his advanced age.

The man was clear with his doctor that
he wanted to do what was necessary to continue living an otherwise healthy
life. As was evidenced, the man was alive and well as he shared his tale. I
applauded him. With zest, I exclaimed, “Good for you!”

Whatever one’s age, they should have
the option to live their lives as fulfilling as possible. If that means having
a procedure that improves and thus extends their life, I say, “Why not?” The
right to live is their right.

What do you think about the right to
die? Would you fight your own right to live? Would you undergo a surgical
procedure to improve your quality of life? Please share your thoughts with our
community!

Do you sometimes try to stand on one leg while brushing your teeth or waiting for the kettle to boil?

As a woman
over 60 you know it’s good for your balance, and it does seem to get easier if
you do it regularly. That means your balance is improving, which is great.

Doing
something small to help your balance every day (or almost every day!) is the
best way to go. It becomes part of your daily routine, and your body will
respond better to a small daily stimulus than a bigger burst once every week or
two.

It is
crucial, however, to keep building on improvements. (Your balance can never be
too good!) It is also important to keep things enjoyable.

So, let me
introduce three ways you can keep the one-leg stand interesting and
challenging.

Note: If
you find standing on one leg too hard, don’t stop reading! Scroll down below
the three challenges to see the different foot positions you can try (with
photos).

Challenge 1: Time

You might
already be doing the time challenge. You are probably counting and might be
vaguely trying to increase your time.

That’s
good because standing on one leg for a period of time is a great measure of
your balance capabilities.

So how can
you be more intentional and challenging about it?

Try this:
Keep a record about how many seconds you can stand on one leg for. Seeing how
far you have come will motivate you to challenge yourself further.

Another
idea: Challenge yourself to keep increasing your time – perhaps to add 1 second a day. Even one
second a week will add up – over a year you could go from a 10-second one-leg
stand to just over a minute.

Challenge 2: Eye Movements

We depend
heavily on our vision to maintain our balance. That’s why you may have been
told to close your eyes while doing balance exercises. But that’s often just
too hard – as soon as you shut your eyes you have to hold on or put the other
foot down.

Doing eye
movements means you are already using your vision and your other balance
systems have to work harder to keep you steady.

Try this:
Hold any small object up in front of you (e.g., a pen or a teaspoon). Focus
your eyes on the object and move it around (up/ down, side to side, in
circles). Keep watching the object (try to keep your head still and just let
your eyes move to track the object).

Challenge 3: Mental Distraction

Occupying
your brain with a mental challenge forces you to work harder to maintain your
balance. Plus, it’s always good to keep your brain ticking over.

Try these:

• Using your memory: Recite a poem or
  sing a song from memory;
• Mental arithmetic: Do a tricky times
  table (e.g., 13, 17);
• Letter games: Try to say the alphabet
  backwards.

You should
find it slightly harder to balance while you are concentrating. Even if you
don’t, you will probably find the distraction keeps you doing the exercise for
longer than you would otherwise!

There are
many, many more exercise challenges you can do to improve your balance (without
getting bored). Hopefully, these will get you started and help you to have more
fun while getting steadier on your feet.

If you want to try more balance exercises at home, this FREE, 4-week Balance Boost video series could be right for you.

But what
if you can’t stand on one leg at all? There’s something for you as well – foot positions that you can try on
your own. See which one works best for you, and then you can also have a go at
the challenges above.

Foot Position 1: Feet Together

Stand with
your feet close together (almost touching). It might not seem like much, but
once you add in some of the challenges above, this might be the best starting
position for you to improve your balance.

Foot Position 2: Staggered Tandem

From
position 1, slide one foot forwards, so the heel is in line with the toes of
the other foot. Repeat with each foot in front.

Foot Position 3: Tandem Stance

Place one
foot directly in front of the other (as if standing on a tightrope). Adjust
your body so that your weight is evenly distributed over both feet. Repeat with
the other foot in front.

Staying Safe with Your One-Leg Stands

We
recommend standing by a support for any balance exercises. You may be fine
doing the one-leg stand without holding on normally, but adding these new
challenges could make you wobble more than you expect. If you don’t need it,
that’s fine, but it’s good to know it is there.

Kitchen
worktops are good, as is the back of a chair, a desk, or a table. A wall
doesn’t work so well as you can’t hold onto it.

When you
try a new exercise, start holding on, then touching with your fingertips for a
few seconds, before letting go. Keep your hand near the support in case you
need to hold on again.

I hope you
enjoy these ideas for adding challenge and variety to your one-leg stand. Make
sure to try the different foot positions as well and let me know how you get on
with them.

Where
do you stand on one leg? Which of these challenges do you find hardest? What do
you do to improve your balance? Please join the conversation below.

Would you like to improve your balance with easy-to-follow home exercise videos? Sign up now for your FREE, four-week Balance Boost video series.

At this point, anything that will keep my hands busy is a literal dream come true. Working from home and having little to no time outside has tested every bit of my patience and forced me to contemplate new routines, like sitting on the window sill and counting the cars that pass by. With what I hope was the worst of cabin fever come and gone, I’m hoping to rescues the remnants of what used to be a regimented beauty routine. For starters, I’m using what I think is the best natural hair mask almost every day.

Underneath the towel turban that makes me feel I’m getting dressed everyday (despite staying in PJ’s), my hair is usually slathered in a mask or deep conditioner. Not only does it restore some normalcy to my new normal; it’s also insurance that my hair will flourish whenever I can sit at an actual work desk again. If you have natural hair like me and want to make the most of your WFH days, here are some of the best-reviewed natural hair masks for every budget.

OGX.

OGX Pracaxi Recovery Oil Moisture Treatment

Though the popular appeal of this mask is that it can work its magic in a mere 60 seconds, I still like to keep it on longer to reap the deeply nourishing benefits of pracaxi oil, an ingredient native to Brazil.

Sauce Beauty.

Sauce Beauty Guacamole Whip Deep Moisture Mask

You’ll definitely want to double-dip this delectable hair treatment infused with avocado and a plethora of oils (coconut, argan, monoi).

Buy: Sauce Beauty Guacamole Whip Deep Moisture Mask $9.99

Maui Moisture.

Maui Moisture Heal & Hydrate Shea Butter Hair Mask

Use this treatment, infused with shea butter and macadamia oil, as a styler or let it sit in your hair for hours to rescue your damaged ‘do.

Buy: Maui Moisture Heal & Hydrate Shea Butter Hair Mask $7.59

Shea Moisture.

Shea Moisture Jamaican Black Castor Oil Strengthen & Restore Treatment Masque

This oldie, but goodie is a must-try for anyone seeking hair growth, as it’s rich in castor oil, a star ingredient for longer, stronger hair.

DevaCurl.

DevaCurl Melt Into Moisture Matcha Butter Conditioning Mask

For those with finer hair, this hair mask promises not to weigh you down despite being infused with some seriously rich ingredients.

Briogeo.

Briogeo Don’t Despair, Repair! Deep Conditioning Mask

Word of mouth is amazing for this Sephora top-seller; a deep-conditioning treatment rich in B vitamins that will help repair hair after damaging heat styling.

Creme of Nature.

Creme of Nature Pure Honey Moisture, Replenish and Strength Hair Mask

Dryness is handled when you incorporate this creamy and thick honey-infused hair mask into your regimen.

Buy: Creme of Nature Pure Honey Hair Mask $7

Cantu.

Cantu Grow Strong Strengthening Treatment

In addition to promoting hair growth, this protective treatment is good to have in your stash before and after chemical processing.

Buy: Cantu Grow Strong Strengthening Treatment $3.97

Mizani.

Mizani Moisture Fusion Intense Moisturizing Mask

This Cupuaçu Butter, Argan Oil and honey-infused deep conditioner restores and improves moisture retention without weighing down (and weakening) curl definition.

Buy: Mizani Moisture Fusion Intense Moisturizing Mask $30

Our mission at STYLECASTER is to bring style to the people, and we only feature products we think you’ll love as much as we do. Please note that if you purchase something by clicking on a link within this story, we may receive a small commission of the sale and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

Paige DeSorbo’s Orange One Shoulder Confessional Dress

Season 4 Summer House Fashion

During this crazy time we could seriously use all of the good news we can get, which is why we’re thrilled to report that Paige DeSorbo’s orange one shoulder dress in her Summer House confessionals season is not only still in stock in every size, but on sale right now for just $25. And if that’s not enough motivation to immediately put down the chip bag click “add to bag,” we don’t know what is.

Fashionably,

Faryn

Click Here to Shop Her Superdown Dress on Sale

Originally posted at: Paige DeSorbo’s Orange One Shoulder Confessional Dress

If you’ve been contemplating starting
a business, now is the perfect time. All of us are being asked to self-isolate
to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

We suddenly have extra time on our hands.
Why not use it to learn more about starting a business and take actual steps to
make it happen?

Here are 5
activities you can do from home in preparation for starting your business.

Brainstorm Business Ideas

At our age, with decades of experience
behind us, we tend to be multi-passionate, have countless skills, and love
doing many things. It can be difficult to narrow and refine our business ideas
to a single working one.

But don’t despair. Here’s a 20-minute
exercise you can try:

Pro
Tip: Don’t
censor your answers. Don’t stop to question what you’re writing down. Just
brainstorm.

Start Blank

Grab a piece of paper. Draw two
columns. Label the first one I LOVE TO DO (LOVE COLUMN), and the second one I’M
GREAT AT (BRAG COLUMN).

Love Column

Take 5 minutes to write down
everything you LOVE to do – from cooking to accounting to art to event planning
– regardless of how good you are at it. (5-minute mark)

Brag Column

Take the next 5 minutes to write down
everything you excel at doing. Go all out, even though your mother taught you
it wasn’t nice to brag. Do it here. Note: Some items may overlap with your LOVE
COLUMN. Include them again. (10-minute mark)

5-Minute Break

Walk away. Get something to drink.
Stretch. Take the dog out. (15-minute mark)

The Intersection

Come back to your brainstorm. Look at
both your LOVE and BRAG columns.

Look for
similar items, such as,
you LOVE helping women and you’re GREAT at mentoring. What about starting a
Coaching/Consulting business?

Or, you LOVE gardening and you’re
GREAT at flower arranging. Could this lead to creating and teaching a flower
arranging course (online or on-ground)?

Also look for
‘mashup’ opportunities – putting unlike items together to create a unique
business concept.

For example, you LOVE dogs and are
GREAT at organizing. How can you put these together to form a business? What
about pet services for busy pet owners?

Another example: You LOVE researching
local history and you’re GREAT at writing. What about building an online course
to teach people how to research and write their local history. (20-minute mark)

Lastly, pick ONE idea to move forward
with. You don’t have to marry it, but you do need one idea to learn more about
to see if it’s ‘the one’.

Research

Use Google and social media (Facebook,
YouTube, Pinterest, and LinkedIn) to learn about the type of business you want
to start, for example, a pet service business.

Pro
Tip: When
searching on Google, scroll to the bottom of the page to find “Searches related to ‘pet service business’.”
This will give you additional search terms to use on Google and the social
media platforms.

Here’s what
you should look for in your research:

Resources

Resources about your idea, including blog
posts, YouTube videos, organizations, how-to articles.

Topic Variations

The topics that come up. For our
example, pet service business,
there are various results – from “12
Unique and Useful Pet-Inspired Businesses”to “Pet Business Insurance”to “9 Steps to Starting a Successful Pet
Sitting Business.”Bookmark them.
Take notes. How can you use these to refine your business idea?

The Competition

What products and/or services are your
competitors offering? How can you differentiate your business from theirs?

Next, use the same search terms (i.e.,
pet service business) on the different social media platforms.

• Do
  you find useful videos on YouTube?
• Helpful
  Facebook Pages or Groups related to your idea that you can join?
• Useful
  articles?

The goal of research is to get a broad
understanding of the overall market you want to enter and start getting
familiar with the specifics of getting started. You want to learn as much as
you can, before you go all in, so you’re sure it’s the right business for you.

Discovery Calls

Invite potential customers to a phone
call or virtual meeting room, like Zoom, for a ‘discovery call’. Tell them
about your business idea. Get their feedback. Find out what they really want (and don’t).

Pro
Tip: Don’t
ask them about price or what they’d be willing to pay for your product or
service. It’s premature. Until you have a product or service and can
communicate the value, you won’t get useful responses.

Sample
questions you can ask:

• What’s your biggest frustration when it comes to [FILL IN YOUR BUSINESS IDEA]. For example, “What’s your biggest frustration when it comes to hiring pet service professionals?”
• If I could wave a magic wand and get you the results (exact product or service) you want, what would it look like? For example, “If I could wave a magic wand, what would your ideal pet service look like?”
• What services/products have you already tried? What worked about them? What didn’t? For example, “What pet service businesses have you tried? What worked about them and what didn’t?”
• Why would you purchase a product/service like this? For example, “Why would you hire a pet service business?”
• What else can you share about your need for [FILL IN THE BLANK]. For example, “What else can you tell me about your need for a pet service business?”

Take notes or record the conversation
(with their permission). You want to capture the precise things they say. You
can later use their words in your messaging and promotions. You’ll also have
loads of data to draw from when crafting your product or service offer.

Discovery calls were something I
didn’t prioritize when I first started my business. They took ‘too much time’.
Once I did them, though, I wished I had done them much earlier. The information
you gather is invaluable.

Tackle Some Tech

Having a business today means using
technology. There are tools and online applications we simply can’t do without.
Take some time to learn a new online tool or app that you can use in your
business.

Note, these free (or less expensive) tools I find indispensable in my business:

Facebook

Learn how to create a Facebook
Business Page and use it to get your business in front of customers.

Here are a
few free videos to get you started:

How to Test Drive Your Business Idea (for FREE) on a Facebook Business Page

A Facebook Business Page: Why You Should Create Yours Today

Facebook Round-Up: Groups, Business Pages and Personal Profile

Google Suite

Dig into the Google Suite of tools (the service starts at $6 per month). This cloud-based system is an entrepreneur’s dream productivity tool. It’s an all-in-one toolbox and includes:

• Document
  and file storage (Google Drive)
• A
  Google calendar app to keep all of your appointments and important project
  dates (Google Calendar)
• Word
  processing tool (Google Docs)
• Spreadsheet
  tool (Google Sheets)
• Presentation
  tools (Google Slides)
• And
  more…

You can sync everything between your
laptop and your Google Drive cloud so you have access to everything from wherever
you have an internet connection.

Canva

Canva.com is a particularly fun and useful tool. It’s a graphic design tool for non-graphic designers. The FREE version is plenty robust.

Learn this tool and you’ll be able to
design just about anything from letterheads and logos to social media graphics,
brochures, and business cards.

There are many how-to and design
tutorials on the site, and Canva provides thousands of templates so you don’t
have to start any design from scratch.

I use Canva every day in my business
and being comfortable using it makes the work go much faster.

Take Some Courses

Pro
Tip: Take one
course at a time. Execute what you learn. Then consider the next course.

A successful online business has many
moving parts. It’s an on-going learning process.

Take this extra time to look for
online courses that will help you build your skillset. Perhaps you’re new to
marketing or you’re not sure how to sell using a specific platform, such as
Etsy or Amazon? There are plenty of online courses to teach you.

Udemy.com or LinkedIn Learning is a good place to start. Courses range from a few dollars to a few hundred.

Investing in education is time and
money well-spent. You’ll move faster and more efficiently in your business.
You’re also more likely to get it right the first time. Consider learning an
on-going activity in your business.

Timing Is Everything

So, if you’re ready to become your own
boss, now is a great time. Tackling these 5 practical activities will move you
closer to your goal and provide a productive distraction in what is shaping up
to be a tumultuous time.

We know from experience this current
crisis will pass. Won’t it be wonderful to come out the other side further
along in your business?

How are you using your self-isolation
time? Have you come up with a business idea? What are you doing to progress it
into a real business? Do you have any tips to share? What issues have you
faced? Please share your thoughts below. We’d love to know more!