50 Shades of Grey

At the ripe old age of 28 I think I am getting old prematurely…  

   Photo Credit: Artiom Gorgan via Flickr cc

I’m officially part of the 50 Shades of Grey Club (no not the other one!). Doing my hair in the mirror just before Christmas last year, I had the shock most women dread…I discovered my first grey hair…well hairs, plural, actually.

Actually they weren’t even grey, they were white.

Maybe you did what I did when you had your ‘grey moment.’ I thought, “Ah it must just be a really blonde hair” or “Maybe it was just a random one that doesn’t mean anything” or even better, “Maybe it’s just the light.”

For women in particular, issues tied up with beauty and body image are always a bit tricky. I’m not a woman who focuses too much on my appearance, yet there is something about finding your first grey hair that screams “you are getting old,” “you aren’t as young as you used to be.” It’s not the nicest of feelings.

It’s not just women who face these issues though, men do too. But does it really matter? Does it really change your ability to live a happy and fulfilled life? Whether it is grey hair, hair loss, cellulite, stretch marks or another birthday, does it really change anything?

It can if you let it.

“You see, what we choose to say to ourselves, is the most important conversation we will have in the day, and in fact our lives.”

Don’t be fooled…we all talk to ourselves. It is that little voice providing commentary on everything that is happening to you and around you.

Often this little voice focuses on the negatives and the worst case scenarios. Be aware and take note of this inner conversation. If you want to encourage a more upbeat conversation with yourself, don’t always listen to this voice.

Challenge your inner dialogue until what you are saying to yourself is supportive. Challenge your inner voice by asking ‘”Is this really true?” and “Is there another, more positive way, I could view this issue/situation?”  

In the moment I had a small flip out about finding grey hair I knew I had a choice to make: fixate on it and get depressed thinking that my body is changing before I want it to, or shrug my shoulders and have a laugh about it.

Having already gone down the illness path with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome at 23, I have long since accepted that our bodies can change at any time, and in ways we might not always like.

So, I chose to have a laugh and see the funny side. I sent my boyfriend a text having a giggle that a ‘white Christmas’ had come early for me. What is the shame after all?

What is your ‘grey moment’ story? What does it mean to you to age with pleasure, not fear?