What woman doesn’t enjoy a good manicure? It’s not just the pampering that she loves. The finishing touch on her hands makes her feel confident and beautiful. The smooth, clean polish says a lot to others too. Well-kept nails show self-respect and attention to detail and this adds credibility to the professional woman and creativity to the fashion-conscious one. A bad manicure, on the other hand, has the opposite effect. It is hard to hide un-kept hands because they are right in front of the people we serve and we don’t need a mirror to see them ourselves. So why is it so hard for some of us to take the time or spend the money on this important part of our image?
Perhaps the reason is found in the emotional Beauty Battle that we face within our soul. Low self-esteem can make us feel like we do not deserve (or cannot afford) the luxury of being pampered. Our self-consciousness can blind us from the practical side of getting a manicure. This was my challenge before owning a nail salon. If this is you, I encourage you to consider a manicure an investment in yourself, your family and your business/profession. Think about this:
When you feel better about your hands you will be more willing to lend them to others.
Your family deserves your loving touch–unhindered by rough edges.
Your clients/patients/patrons need to know you care about yourself, or they may feel that you cannot possibly care about them.
This “investment” doesn’t require a lot of money. With a simple a decision to give extra care to your hands and nails, you could invest your time and give yourself a manicure. It doesn’t take a professional to make your hands look great. In fact, you can get a professional manicure that doesn’t look good on you and robs your confidence if you don’t know what to ask for.
So what should you ask for?
I will be blogging about that Saturday. Until then, consider what holds you back from investing in yourself. Or, if you are good about keeping up your nails, think about how you feel about the time or money you spend on manicures. Because in reality, whether you have a good manicure that suits you well or completely unkept hands, it’s the balance between making it overly important and not caring at all that will bring C.O.N.F.I.D.E.N.T BEAUTY, which doesn’t chip or smudge like a manicure does!
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Catrina Welch is an image- and life-coach whose message is not as much “what not to wear” as it is, “Know Who You Are,” which is the title of her book of guidelines for your personal image identity. Catrina has also written a Bible study to help women overcome their confidence conflicts; it is titled Supreme MakeOver: a Rich and Refreshing Devotional Experience. Her other books include Footprints Through the Sand: a Consolidation of Life-altering stories about Loving and Losing our Trisomy-18 Baby and Confident Beauty: Reflecting the One Who Made You with the Images in Your Mirror and Your Soul, which will be available in book stores this spring. All of these books are available now at www.CatrinaWelch.com
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