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Give yourself a gift this festive season...
Sindy Kaur
 I can’t believe its December already! Getting ready for my first party of the season got me thinking... I gave up trying to squeeze into my LBD and opted for an all-forgiving sari instead, remembering wistfully back to the start of the year when I promised myself yet again that I’d lose weight, tone up, and feel ten years younger by the end of the year. But guess what? Today will be the start of another season when I eat and drink more than I normally would – and then when the new year comes round again, I’ll haul out my ‘not so new’ year’s resolutions once again as if this year hadn’t happened and start all over again. Anyone with me here...?
So this year, before even thinking about New Year’s resolutions, I’ve decided to reflect on the year just gone, and to think about what has made it worthwhile for me. If I were to pick 3 areas, they would be:
• As a makeup artist I worked with the charity Look Good Feel Better running confidence building makeup workshops for women and teenagers going through cancer treatment. I worked on some inspirational women who really helped me put my ‘stuff’ into perspective.
• I helped young people with difficult / challenging backgrounds to take control of their life by setting up a business with the help of The Prince’s Trust. Some of the people I worked with had faced horrific situations in the past. This made me appreciate the people I have in my own life.
• I started reconnecting with my passion and background in makeup and beauty, combined with my training as a life coach, and I’m pulling it all together under the banner of Challenging Perceptions of Beauty – this has really got me thinking about beauty at a much deeper level.
You see, there is a different type of beauty that lies within all of us that we don’t always recognise –ignored or pushed to one side as not being as relevant. Yet it is this beauty that helps us to connect to others, that makes a real difference in peoples’ lives – and that can give us back so many of the things we crave for – love, relationships, appreciation, a feeling of self-worth... I didn’t need to lose weight or tone up to do any of the things above – they were all part of who I already am.
So before you launch into next year’s resolutions on auto-pilot, I invite you to re-focus your attention onto something different this coming year. Perhaps you could think about the answers to this question:
‘If looks didn’t matter, you knew you were good enough as you are right now, and you weren’t afraid of what other people thought:
• What would you dream about and then take action on to make happen?
• What would you dare to do that you feel you couldn’t / wouldn’t do right now? What risks would you take?
• How would that make your life be different? What would it give you?’
Beyonce Knowles put out a tweet that really resonated with me. She said: “Most of the people that died yesterday had plans for today....Never take life for granted...” I have to say – I’m with her there.
If you focus on what you can contribute to make other peoples’ lives better, not only does it take the pressure off you, but it will come back to you tenfold – as long as you can learn to love and appreciate yourself and open up to receive what others offer you. What you put out is what you get back, and by stepping into my courage and putting myself out there, I have attracted so many beautiful people into my life who don’t mind if I’m a bit overweight and wobbly in places. Beauty is about so much more than how you look, and the more you understand that, the deeper your appreciation of true beauty grows, and the more you start to experience it.
So, be kind to yourself, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to look fantastic, but please don’t dishonour yourself by believing that how you look is the sum total of who you are. Dare to unwrap any insecurities that are hidden behind layers of makeup and fancy clothes, and give yourself and others the gift of showing them who you really are...and you don’t even have to wait for your new year’s resolutions – you can start right now...
Have a wonderful festive season.
Sindy x
info@sindykaur.co.uk
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