The latest NLP gathering was a themed event called “Come as you’ll be in 5 years time”. I thought this was a fascinating concept and although I was not able to attend, I was curious as to how I would have dressed had I gone. Given that I am already embarking on a new journey of sorts, I mused about how I would dress to reflect the next stage of my life.
The most obvious choice would be a wardrobe for a cooler climate and the possibility of wearing a different outfit for the four seasons. And yet, it is not only about the clothes – how could I express the personality that I would be presenting in 2016? Who was I planning to be? A wry smile crossed my face at the freedom of painting a new me, with no limitations or preconceptions. Could I become an Agatha Christie eccentric or perhaps I could morph into middle age with elegance and charm aka Audrey Hepburn or Amelia Earhart. The latter seemed more appealing. It would definitely attract more admiring glances, providing I could lose enough weight to pull it off!
I quickly dismissed both ideas as superficial because I was working from the outside in, rather than the other way around. It’s like setting goals. One needs to have an overall vision first before working on the details. So what was the vision for my future life? Sketching in the details I could see myself in a more public arena, promoting my book, running my workshops, attending literary events and playing amateur golf. Not much to work with, I sniggered. Seriously, whom did I know that I could model? If I at least looked the part, I might be believable and when we ‘act as if we already have something’, it’s amazing how that very thing seems to manifest. That thought made me feel quite excited and motivated – so far so good – a first step in the right direction according to the manifesting gurus.
I could sense a more elegant me, coming into my feminine essence and dressing to impress. Logging into the internet I googled “female author style icon’ and waited for the results. What a disappointment – all young punks – nothing in my age group. It seems that the last real era of true style icons was in the 1950s and they were mostly movie stars. I’d already nailed Audrey so tell me what’s new!
Googling again I changed the search to “elegant presenter”. The results did not give me any visual ideas, but I did discover something more interesting. Apparently we are considered elegant when we present ideas that are true to our values and beliefs i.e. being congruent wins kudos. Did that mean I could dress any which way and still be admired? I knew that wouldn’t work since I wanted to not only feel elegant but look it. One last chance at the net – where is that icon for me to model? Holding my breath I googled ‘Top Ten Authors 2010” and discovered that they all looked quite uninspiring, except for the obvious makeover from Women’s Own. I guess I will stick with my original plan – eat your heart out Audrey!
Janet Deeb
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