Lipstick is Recession Proof

I found this wonderful and thought-provoking quote on Lucy’s Blog from SELF.com. Lucy Danziger is the editor-in-chief of SELF Magazine.

The short answer is: People are investing in themselves. Investing time, mostly, but they’re also establishing healthier habits. We can’t control the markets, the war, the economy in general or the outcome of the election tomorrow, but we can do one thing: We can spend time taking care of ourselves. The stores may be empty, but the jogging paths, gyms and swimming pools are packed. Everyone wants to built a better future, and today, that means spending time on yourself.

Lipstick, the saying goes, is recession-proof. When I first heard this, from none other than the esteemed Evelyn Lauder herself, it was shortly after 9/11 and the economy was also stumbling, albeit for a very different reason. The cycles go as follows: When the general economy is soft, people still want to go to stores, but instead of buying the big-ticket items, they’ll spring for little things (someone in the sock biz also told me socks were recession-proof for the same reason; men will skip a new suit or tie but still want a little something new). No one likes leaving a store empty-handed, except that now it’s the kind of economy where you feel virtuous not spending, kind of like you feel virtuous for not having dessert.
 

Isn’t that a great quote? I think what we all have to keep in mind is that no matter how tough or bad some days (or weeks, or months) may feel…we should never forget ourselves in the process. Yes, times are tough and money is tight, but if you find ways to improve your life through fitness, healthy-eating, and pursuing your inner passions, your strife will seem all the more manageable each day.

I always remember this quote from an Oprah show I watched years back. She said no matter how tight money was as a struggling young adult, she would do something small for herself. She said she would go into a drugstore and buy a $4 lipstick, put it on, and walk out feeling like a million bucks.

I think exercise and healthy-eating operate in a similar fashion. I can be having ‘one of those weeks’ and feeling like things will never get better, but if I keep exercise and healthy-eating consistent in my life, everything somehow seems more manageable. I have more energy to tackle stressful situations.

This past summer, I survived the most challenging time of my entire life. I was finishing up my Master’s degree, working part-time as a teaching assistant, starting at a new full-time researcher career, and planning our wedding all at the same time. Talk about stress! People thought I was absolutely crazy to take on a full-time job while I was already a full-time student and part-time TA, and oh yea, I was finishing (and defending) my Master’s thesis to boot!

However, I am proud to say that during this difficult time (and oh were there tears), my exercise and healthy-eating remained unchanged. I still got up every morning and worked out and I still tried to nurture my body to the best of my ability. Sure, there were bad days (ice cream, anyone?), but they weren’t the norm. By investing in myself I taught myself the greatest lesson in life- self-love and respect.

How do you invest in yourself everyday?