Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net
If you are anything like me, you’re probably sitting in front of your computer with your hair barely combed, clothes in a mess and feeling sluggish. You’re probably browsing the internet or watching television looking on in awe at the fabulous accomplishments of random strangers and wondering what you’ve accomplished. Upon realizing you haven’t accomplished anything, you start feeling discouraged about your own life. In fact, you’re pretty sure at that moment in time you might actually hate yourself. Or what about when you have a day off from work, decide to sleep in, barely get into your sweats, do nothing all day, feel blah and hate everything about yourself? … Ok, maybe hate is a strong word. But you’re probably not happy with yourself. As depressing as it is, this is a natural feeling. We’re all bound to feel a bit lackluster and disappointed with our lives every once in a while.
There’s an easy fix to what you are feeling and it’s hidden within the scenario I posed above. And no, the problem isn’t that you are comparing yourself to others and need to be happy with who you are to hate yourself less. However, that’s a good guess. Believe it or not the problem and solution lie in the first sentence of the paragraph. – “… hair barely combed, clothes in a mess and feeling sluggish.” Some may call it shallow, but the problem is definitely in how you look.
No, I’m not saying you need to look like a super model or that you are ugly so you live an ugly life. I’m saying it pays to put some extra effort into your appearance. In the example above, you looked sluggish and therefore, you felt sluggish. Unfortunately, those sluggish feelings then lead to a downward spiral of reduced productivity, dissatisfaction with life and then ultimately hating yourself. Sure, you may think I’m over exaggerating but this happens much more than you think. You’ve probably heard the phrase, “When you look good, you feel good” so the opposite must be true as well.
Your appearance can make a big difference in your job, how you feel about yourself and the way people treat you. . That’s not necessarily a bad thing and it doesn’t always mean hat people are harshly judging you. It means you have the power to shape your life and the way people view you very easily. Be honest, you’ll probably treat someone who takes pride in themselves and tries to look their best everyday at the office much better than you would treat someone who doesn’t make an effort and only looks average at best.
The way you dress and present yourself can even have a positive effect on your health. My mother always made a strong effort to make sure I knew that fact and lived life accordingly. As a child, I spent a lot of time in the hospital. Each time I went, the doctors would always suggest I could be in the hospital for weeks to a month. As you could imagine, this would make me very miserable and sad. Of course, that didn’t matter to mom. Much to my dismay, my mom always dressed me in my favorite skirts and dresses while in the hospital.And as a typical child, I argued with her saying “I don’t want to wear a dress because it will get messed up with medicine and stuff in the hospital.” To which my mother responded, “That will make you get better faster so you won’t mess it up. When you look good, you feel good” It turns out mother knew best. In addition to the nursing staff complimenting me on my favorite dress and skirt, I never ended up staying in the hospital for the full month. While one might argue my early departure was because children recover faster than adults, my mother to this day is convinced it has everything to do with making me feel good by looking my best even in the hospital. Could you blame her?
I don’t know about you, but I definitely feel like a rock star when dressed in a pair of killer heels, hair did and dressed to impress. That rockstar feeling usually continues throughout the day. Why wait to look your best and feel those rockstar moments on only special occasions? Your wedding day, date of your performance review, or holiday party shouldn’t be the only times that you look and feel your absolute best. Everyday is a a day worthy enough for you to break out your favorite shoes and slick your hair back in a special way. Once you do, you’ll feel like you can conquer the world.
So I challenge you to look your best on a snow day, beautiful spring day, when you have a cold and every other day. Together we can eliminate all the self-hate and feel inspired to conquer the world one good hair and “best dressed” day at a time.
Do you try to look your best everyday? How does it impact your day to day life and how you feel about yourself?
TERRIfic Quip: Always wear your invisible crown.
