The Unexpected Bonus You Get From Acting More Like Yourself

Would you ever wear your runners styled with a cute summer dress?

I’ve always been the girl that’ll choose comfort over style.

You’ll hardly ever catch me in heels. And I just bought my first hairdryer (yes, really) about two years ago.

I’m also not too easily embarrassed.

My girlfriends used to tease me back in uni for not being shy to walk around in my runners (and they weren’t those cute fashionable ones you get these days) and my summer dress. But hey, I was comfortable!

There’d be times where I’d stop to second guess myself – do I really look that silly? Should I put on something else? And inevitably I’d land on nope! I’m comfy here!

In some ways me being comfortable, gave my friends permission to feel good too. They got to giggle and laugh about it.

Saying yes to our own comfort isn’t always as simple as choosing whether to wear runners with your dress or not.

Sometimes it means having to say no to a drink at a party, because, well, you just don’t want one.

Or sometimes it means telling a friend you feel upset by their comment.

Or it means saying no to a job that looks really really good on paper but simply doesn’t light you up.

Sometimes it means singing out loud of the train, because you can.

Or smiling at a stranger.

Or being over the top excitable because you’re just in the best mood ever.

All of those choices, to simply be comfortable with being you, also give others permission to do the same.

We’re all watching for role models and examples of how we can show up in the world. How we can make decisions – about careers, relationships and life itself.

We want to know it’s safe and okay. So we look for evidence.

When you get to witness someone standing up for themselves, speaking their truth, sharing their pains and their joys, then you get to see it’s possible for you too.

In my online course, BLOOM, I teach that in order to make a change in your life and actually move forward you have to get clear on what’s holding you back in the first place. And I think saying yes to others, instead of ourselves, holds us back.

Learning how to tune in to what makes us feel comfortable – regardless of how ridiculous it seems to others – actually has a magnifying effect. And the more you do so, the more clarity you get.

I like to think not only did my dress and runners style give my friends something to giggle about, but that it also gave them permission to do something a little more ridiculous in their lives too. ?

What’s getting in the way of you taking that first step right now? How could you say YES to you?

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