Try this on for size - Part 2

(Thank you to those of who you have taken the time to write me and offer your positive feedback on my last post. I truly appreciate it. Due to the popular response and the fact that I feel so strongly on the subject, I decided to write a continuation of my last post! Enjoy!)

It’s the unfortunate truth that those that don’t know you personally tend to base their ideas and opinions of your inside (your character and personality) based on your outside (your clothing and appearance). With that being said and in accordance with my last post, I feel that it’s important to let the real YOU shine through from the inside out. Embrace your individuality. Be yourself. Allow your appearance to be the cherry on the top of your irresistible inner beauty.

I remember being in Jr. High and High school and feeling the constant competition to look the best. I would race out to the mall to keep up with all the trends. I would buy the most outrageously expensive jeans (which ended up being not cool anymore 6 months later). I had to have the same brand of purse that was currently “in”, and it didn’t matter that I couldn’t afford it whatsoever. I had to fit in, so that meant wearing basically the same things as everyone else. Conform, or be left out. Sound familiar at all? Yes, never would I DARE to wear something funky and different; that was like social-suicide. I remember constantly comparing myself to other girls. I felt so inferior when I noticed a popular girl wearing a brand name expensive hoodie – but what do you know – a week later the whole class shows up in the same brand name expensive hoodie to keep up with her. It’s exhausting, it’s expensive, and there is no quicker way to dim your light shining through than to be a follower.

I feel like your outside is a natural extension of what you feel about yourself on the inside. To be authentic and to be your most confident self, it requires you to not try to be anyone else. We don’t need a second-version of anyone else, we need the first you. You’re different. You’re unique. You were created with so many different quirks and personality traits that it’s truly a shame to not embrace them and let them shine through in order to feel acceptable to others.

Isn’t it funny how the people that are truly unique and different are the most intriguing? Please ladies, don’t worry about fitting in. YOU be the trend-setter. The most stylish and attractive outfit you can wear is something that is truly reflective of your gorgeous inner beauty. If that means you are wearing a completely fashion faux-pas of an outfit that will land you on a “worst dressed list” somewhere, then so be it! If you are wearing something that was “sooo five years ago” big deal! Be real. Be you. Take it or leave it. Let it shine through.

What does YOUR outside say about your inside?

I'm Contagious

Nothing kills the mood faster than a "Debbie-downer"; someone who has nothing but negative things to say. Negativity can be contagious. All it takes is one person complaining about one thing and then others will soon chime in with their similar complaints and whines on the subject, and before you know it the whole room is in a sombre bitter mood. Thankfully, I've found that as quick as negativity can be contagious, so can positivity be! In the same way, all it takes is one person to change the subject, clear the air, and lighten the mood. One happy person in a social circle has the power to influence the whole group with their happiness. I have come up with 3 easy ways you can be contagiously happy and positive. I urge you to give these a try!

Break the chain: Gossip is often prevalent in any social group. Get two or more people together and it's only a matter of time before they start to swap stories of what he-said and she-said. When you walk into one of these social settings, make it your duty to break the chain!! If they are talking about how Suzy is wearing an awful outfit, be the first to say something positive about poor Suzy there! Be the first to point out that she has beautiful eyes, or is such a hard worker and a great friend. Break the chain and point out the positive in everyone, everything.

Smile: This one seems so simple, but yet so many times we pass plenty of people throughout our day without so much as acknowledging them, let alone smiling at them. It takes no time and barely any effort at all, but it may very well change someone's mood or get their minds of something negative, even for that brief moment. I was eating in a food court recently by myself, and an older gentleman sat at a table directly across from me. I made eye contact with him and gave him a sincere smile, and he smiled back. After he finished eating, he came up and told me to have a great evening and that was the first time he smiled in a long time. Who knows what he could have been going through, but just the fact that someone acknowledged him, and gave him a smile was enough to encourage him to smile again. It's so simple and it can do wonders for people in ways you may never know.

Dance! Wherever there is music, the opportunity is there! I've danced in the grocery store aisle pushing my cart buying a frozen pizza, I've danced in my car at a red light much to the delight (or confusion) of other drivers around me, and you better believe I'm always on that dance floor if there is one available to me! Dancing is KEY to creating a happy positive environment that is contagious to everyone in the room. Take for example weddings: the funnest and most memorable part of the evening is the dance portion! You don't have to be any good at it, actually it's probably better if you don't have formal training because then you can really let your hair down and give 'er without any reservations or proper technique. Don't worry about what others are thinking, don't worry about how you look, just please take a tip from Lady Gaga and just DANCE. It's simple, it's effective, and it will encourage others to do the same.

You have the power to make someone's day, to change someone's mood, or to be a moment of sunshine in an otherwise gloomy day. Be contagiously happy. Choose to break the chain, smile, and of course... DANCE. :)

"Be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead."
1 Peter 1:6