Putting on the Sunday best

In the "old" days, when money was a little tighter than it is perhaps today, people owned maybe a couple of "good" outfits - and usually wore them to weddings, funerals, going out and to church. If it was time to make an effort, out came the "Sunday best".

Today we have a few more resources at our disposal, but if we want to go somewhere special we make an effort to look good - we wear a "nice" outfit, do hair and nails, ladies - match stockings to shoes and handbags fix the makeup and hair and  our "men" do the equivalent - choosing shirts and pants (trousers), ties (if necessary), matching socks and adding a dash of aftershave to the finished look. Not only do we look good, we smell good too.

Image is important - or should be - if you want to make a good impression. But we are not talking just about making a good impresson on other people, but to ourselves. If we feel good about who we are, we will generally look better, we smile more, our eyes shine and people gravitate towards us. We make an impression on others, because we have taken the time to make an impression on ourselves. But it doesn't stop there. If we have a healthy respect for our own self-image we complete our work more easily, our self-talk is positive, our voice is more relaxed and open which makes a world of difference if you spend a great deal of time on the telephone.

How you create a healthy respect for yourself can be an interesting exercise, especially if you are prone to putting yourself down, or you allow others to "put you down". But it involves taking a personal inventory of many things:

What are you thinking about right now?
Are you in a good mood, bad mood or neutral mood - can you change the neutral mood to a more positive one? What is bothering you? What is annoying you? Can you do anything about it? Then should it matter - right now? If you can't fix it, because it's not your problem to fix, and you can't make a suggestion to the person - then leave it for now. Don't let others dictate your mood, and if it's completely out of your control - as in - so what the wind just messed up your hair, the bus was late and you can't find a seat - for goodness sake - stop worrying over the little things....give that energy to something important - like one of your goals. I do find it fascinating that people (and myself included sometimes) will wear themselves out - over things they have no control over and literally have no time or energy for the things they do have to do.

Having a healthy self-image does start with your mind.

If we feel better when we dress "up" why not use that psychological uplift when you need a boost? I am a great believer in not saving things for "best" today to me is the "best" day to wear something nice, so I do. I don't wait for Sunday's, weddings, funerals, big meetings or any other random event day to make an effort - those who know me well, will attest to the suits on a perfectly "normal" day - or getting changed after work and putting on something "nice". And yes there are days when I dag it down - but it doesn't affect my healthy self-respect I have for myself.

So can you do you a favour this week - make an effort for yourself to be the best you can be... and yes - dress the part, after all YOU are worth every second it takes to do.

With many thoughts
Elle

To add your comments or join in the discussion -

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Think and Grow Rich:
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Have you got your copy yet?

http://www.motivateme.info/think-and-grow-rich/

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The 100 day goal achievement challenge update:
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Yesterday was day 55 - yes just 55 days left to the end of the year - which is quite a scary thought. If you have been following the plan and working on your goals a little bit each day things should be slotting into place now.

I've had a long term "goal" well more of a hope really that one day I would lose enough weight to allow me to drop a couple of dress sizes - that goal got a kick up the proverbial when I realised that I DID need to change my diet and change it dramatically. I've been "crook" for a couple of weeks now (to coin the Australian vernacular) and realised I have become gluten intolerant. So I have had to strip out eveyrthing containing wheat, rye and barley out of my diet.... 4 days into a new way of eating and whilst I haven't lost any weight yet I do feel quite a lot better. The last time I went on this "diet" was the time I weighed the lightest I have ever weighed in my life and felt the best - amazing, I should have realised then - but the lure of fresh bread and the simplicity of grain based and processed foods....but no more.

Sometimes it does take a while to work out what you and your body needs in order to function well. Next week I am going to try and see the doc and get an overall blood screen and allergy test done, but for now - it's bye bye bread and hello a much smaller me - most excited.