ACT AS THE PERSON YOU WANT OTHERS TO SEE YOU AS

Did you ever catch your reflection in a shop window and think: “Who is that poor misfortunate individual?” Then … O.M.G! That’s me!

OK. So maybe that’s just me. But whenever I catch sight of myself acting as a poor thing I quickly straighten myself up, pull my mind out of whatever dusty old basement it had been muttering to itself in, and fully engage mind. face, body,

WHAT ARE YOU WEARING NOW?

What are you wearing today – now – this minute? I mean, what costume did you put on for the play you are acting in today? What character are you playing right now?
“What me!” you might protest. “I’m just being myself!”

OK. Maybe. So check out the clothes you chose to put on, your hair, shoes.
What are you dressed for?
Check out the set of your face. Is it interested, strong, confident?
If you saw this you in a sitcom without the sound on, what kind of character would you think you were seeing? Hero, victim, thoughtful, angry, sad, guilty, confident …?

If you were the producer and needed to change that character to a fully engaged, forward thinking person, what visual changes would you need to make – costume change – expression – stance?

NO ONE CAN SEE WHAT YOU ARE FEELING … EVER!
PEOPLE CAN ONLY SEE WHAT THEY SEE

Like seeing a character on a sitcom, people make instant judgments based on what they see. “That’s a confident person, that’s a miserable depressed person, that person looks happy with their life.”

O.K. so the person looking miserable may just be thinking deep thoughts. The confident person may be planning to kill someone and make off with their loot.
Or not. People don’t question. They – we – simply jump to a conclusion and run with it.

This shouldn’t be important perhaps, but it is. How people react to us reflects back and magnifies whatever feelings we are projecting. So if I’m feeling down and looking down and people glance at me and quickly look away, this will confirm whatever feeling of low self- worth I may have been experiencing.

ALWAYS DRESS AS IF YOU HAD SOMEWHERE MORE IMPORTANT TO GO

A friend told me this. Good tip. I like it. It’s particularly important during this time of lockdown/no lockdown uncertainty. Catching myself in a mirror or shop window looking well groomed and purposeful raises my spirits and gives me a fresh sense of purpose.