Happy Fashion Friday Everyone…
Feeling blue on the inside? Did you know that research indicates that your attitude + your clothing choice will have an impact on your performance and behavior?
No need to worry, there is HOPE! You have the opportunity to set the tone for how you want to show up…. all day long. On the days you feel down, sad, or plain old crabby….choose to dress to the nines! Not only will it elevate your look, it will elevate your behavior/performance as well. Your speech will be impacted, as will the way you walk, sit, and interact with others.
…If you ever find yourself in the space, where your attitude is weighing you down, here are some tips that I’ve come to embrace. They’ve helped to move me into a place of positive intention, dress in stronger visual alignment from the inside-out, and thus better perform throughout the day. I thought I’d share them with you in case you too, can benefit in some way.
• Take 5 minutes of time to consider or journal all the things for which you are grateful. At some point read them out loud or share them with a good friend.
• Set the intention for your day. How do you want to contribute? What do you want to achieve? What results are needed? What’s your role?
• Choose to shift your attitude from a negative one, to one that supports – better yet – blazes the trail for those intentions you set above.
• Select your style/outfit to visually align with your attitude and intentions.
If you’re interested, below is my personal story from this morning which was the impetus of this blog post:
Yesterday, it was a gorgeous day in Seattle and today the sun was to make quite an appearance as well.
That said, I am painfully aware of the lack of beauty that’s going on in the south with the Mississippi River flooding. While I’m a glass half full type of gal, I can’t help but think about all of those displaced people and families – and the devastation of their reality. Beyond looking for an answer to, “How can I help?”, I also find this situation to be a bit weighty, especially given the number of natural disasters as of late. I also find that along with my “mindset” I’m lacking some motivation and would rather dress in casual “comfort” clothes.
My authentic truth right now: It seems so…menial to me to be thinking of shopping, blogging and social media-ing about style, when the bare essentials of our neighbors along the river are being flooded away. (Side note: This is one reason why I’m so passionate about “authentic” essence and style being an inside-out job. When adversity hits -when wealth, status, possessions, and in this case – your home gets taken away from you – who are you? What remains? What internal resolve do you have to draw on, to keep hope alive, and to keep on truckin’?)
That said, while I’m feeling bit blue about it all, I remind myself that I have responsibilities as the President, Owner, and Personal Style & Branding Coach of Uniquely Savvy. Over the last 11 years of being in business, I have experienced a lot of adversity (my own very painful divorce, 9/11, the recession, and the tragedies abroad) and yet, both the needs of the business and our clients still need to get met. I can choose to wallow or I get to choose to pull it together and create the best day possible for myself and those around me.
It’s a great honor and privilege to be selected to serve a client in finding solutions that solve their personal style, branding, and shopping pain points. Thus, over the years and now, I MUST have a paradigm shift in my thinking. I must shift my thinking into the positive, get dressed, and step into…….a mindset, a behavior, and an aligned outfit so I can deliver results for others as well as myself. Does this make sense? (The greatest influence begins internally, with the mind – the clothes simply become the packaging.)
Perhaps you can relate? Perhaps you’ve lost a job, have a child who is struggling, or you or someone you know is dealing with the reality of serious illness. Life is not easy. Often it’s painful, yet it must go on….
My hope is that you’ve gleaned some good ideas here. Just sharing this with you helped “shift” my attitude this morning. While today was simply an office day, I did have a phone interview with Central Washington University (I will be speaking to inspire and empower college grads on personal branding and interview attire as they head into the “real” world.) After drafting this post, I did just what I wrote to you. My outfit? I selected a strong, professional outfit, complete with statement military jacket. The alignment from the inside out was: Present, appropriate, reliable, competent, confident, business leader, creative visionary, and successful – and this is exactly how I performed today.
Have a super weekend everybody!
Championing YOU from the Inside-Out, Kim
P.S. While I’m honored to have co-authored, “Incredible Life: Top Experts Reveal How to Create Yours” and enlisted the help of a professional editor to correct my mistakes, I appreciate your patience for my mistakes in ALL my blog posts! To be sure, you will find them. With that, I will stand in the saying, “progress not perfection”……Progress? Absolutely. Six months ago, I wouldn’t dare share a peep with you on a blog!
Kim Crumpler is Founder of Uniquely Savvy, Inc and is an 11 year veteran Personal Style & Branding Coach, Personal Shopper, Author, and Speaker. An expert, Kim delivers results and is passionate about helping men & women BE comfortable and confident in their own skin, look and feel amazing, and attract more of who and what they want in life! Kim invites you to: Join the conversation on Uniquely Savvy’s facebook business page, call her for a phone consultation to determine how you will best benefit from her expertise, or book her to speak at your upcoming event. Available for keynotes, workshops, seminars, and girlfriend parties, the programs your audience will love range from personal style, to professional image and branding. Additionally, Kim co-authored, “Incredible Life: Top Experts Reveal How to Create Yours”, and speaks to a variety of audiences on personal empowerment – bringing inspirational messages of hope and sharing practical tips and tools learned on her inside-out, “From Fear to Freedom” journey. Contact Kim @ 425.503.9885 or learn more at www.uniquelysavvy.com.
Kim: Great points and very well written. Keep up your great work of making us all look and feel better!