Let’s talk about owning our story this week.
When it comes to trying on your real- life story, I suggest these 3 things:
1. Be honest to a fault. There is no wrong way to tell your truth.
2. Remember your story isn’t ‘you.’ Your story is a piece of your experience. You get to decide whether you want to wear the story or not.
3. Only tell the part of the story you wish to be told. You don’t owe anybody anything. You get to decide which parts of you are put out in your world work and which aren’t. There are no wrong answers.
I remember the first time I was ready to wear an above-the-knee skirt. I knew it totally accentuated my left leg’s disability and my paralyzed foot.
Still there was something about that particular day when I woke up worn out in New York City. I was tired to my bones, actually.
When I put on that cute short skirt with my black leather ‘driving shoes’ on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, I knew I was in for the long haul.
I was ready for the stares from the people on the street, and I was definitely ready for tourist buses to screech to a halt to allow the passengers to take my photos. “Check out the freak!! This is what makes NYC great!!”
The truth is I walked from the Upper East side to Battery Park.
You know what happened?
Nothing. Nada. Not one single cab breaked to a halt and had their passengers grab my picture. The humans I passed on the street? Yeah. Exactly nothing.
My freak flag turned out to not be a flag at all.
Gang, nobody cared. NOBODY cared. I’d banked my entire life on the stares and snickers of others, and I got NOTHING.
The same thing happened with one of my awesome clients last summer. She was particularly worried about the size of her arms.
Hence, we decided to term the summer the Summer of Sleeveless.
Shut your face. YES. She chose sleeveless tops and dresses all summer long. We were going to document the feedback.
I don’t even have to tell you what happened, do I?
Yeah. Nothing. No one noticed. No one said a thing. And my client got to be cooler and comfortable all summer long.
Insane, right?
So, as you can already tell, I’m a fan of going big. Own your ‘thing’ and put it out there. Yes, it’s going to be uncomfortable. However, that’s the point. Get a little uncomfortable. Put yourself out in the places that feel strange.
After all, you really have nothing to lose.
Pick something that makes you feel like you’re stepping out of the box this week, and let us know how it goes.
You may choose to go sleeveless, you may want to wear shorts, you may be all up in those cold shoulder tops that are so popular now.
You pick your comfort zone stretch. But, sweet darling, STRETCH!!!!
After a week of ‘stretching,’ let me know what you chose and how it went!