Recently, the topic of dress code at the “office” became a hot topic! Not to worry!
The US Senate even took up this subject. In a matter of days, the dress code went from business to casual and then back to business attire. It was enough to cause news outlets to scramble to keep up! Who in the world really enjoys reporting on the fashion of the Senate?
Fortunately, Fortune Magazine brought us up to date saying that dress codes have periodically been an issue for years sighting, “It’s the same one sung by college administrators in the late 1950s when women wanted to wear pants to the campus cafeteria. And . . . the chorus of befuddled office managers wanted to ban polo shirts in the early 1990s, just as Casual Fridays revolutionized what people wear to work.”
Hope that information relieved your stress factor about how we got to this point!
Shifting Roles: Can You Do It?
Years ago, Amy Grant wrote a song entitled “Hats.” She happened to love hats but, in the song, she talked about all the hats she had to wear in life. A wife, a mother, a daughter, an entertainer, a friend, a role model, and entrepreneur! Each hat carried with it a huge responsibility. Switching from work, to casual, to meeting family needs, filled her days.
You get the picture: one hat off and another one on! Busy—so busy that she probably was not experiencing what we all need to experience and that’s more Perfect Days! Just like dress attire: Perfect Days are not perfect!
The ideal of a Perfect Day is to take what we are given and make it work well. You and I are not going to have Perfect Days, but we can shape our perspective and influence so that “perfect” comes at whatever level.
Like most of you, I feel pressure! Recently, my wardrobe changed again. On a recent morning, I stepped into my closet, and looked at all the various clothes in front of me, I suddenly saw all the trappings of motherhood and years spent in business and meeting the needs of others.
I had just dropped my youngest daughter off at college and suddenly: I was an empty nester! What? How did this happen?
Life Changes but the Overall Goal Does Not — Go for it!
Clients talk to me about life changes all the time. We discuss roles shifting and what it means to keep the right focus so life rolls on well. We talk about investing in what means the most so that we (high achievers) keep reaching our goals even when the goals turn in a different direction.
You are setting goals, right?
Change is one of the best things that can happen to us. We get to toss away things that are no longer needed. If we shed some tears along the way: it’s okay and natural.
We also get to go from being super mom to a listening, caring mom whose voice means so much to the one on the other end of the phone.
So, what is your current dress code? Are you buying new clothes that fit who you are now? I hope so.
I thought I was prepared for any change that would come my way. Most of us think this same thing, but the reality is it was still unexpected.
More Perfect Days
As we catch up on Perfect Days, remember your goals:
- Invest in your life and the lives of others. “People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” —May Angelou
- Give yourself away.
- Take time for you. Listen, breath, and trust.
- Experience life to the fullest. Just because life turns to the right or the left, don’t stop learning and growing.
You may change what you wear to the office, to lunch with a friend, or to the beach, just keep that wardrobe updated and ready to be used!
You can download my book on Amazon, Perfect Day: A Guide to Curing Lifestyle Deficit Disorder and Reclaiming Your Business, Your Relationships, and Your Life. Or better, Let’s CONNECT: What will 15 minutes cost you? It’s free! Sign up here and let’s talk about how to end 2023 with the right goals for your life!
About The Author: Cokie Berenyi
Cokie Berenyi has been in financial services and serving the needs of individual and institutional clients and entrepreneurs since 1996. Mother, author, business owner, financial “samurai” and Perfect Day engineer, Cokie loves food, wine, travel, stray dogs, goat cheese, tennis, and alpine mountaineering.
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