Such a Funk!

For most of us this has been the longest winter of our lives. Yesterday, I was so tired of the dirty snow, the bare trees, the slush, the cold and on and on. When I went to bed I was in such a funk. The more I laid there feeling sorry for myself the more I realized it was ME that I was most tired of. My own attitude was what was making everything around me seem more gloomy and dreary and dirty than it really was. Don't get me wrong its ugly out there.

Reflecting on my week, I realized that I have worn the same shirt and the same really awful pair of polar fleece pants for at least 3 days. Yuck! If I wore the same clothes for that many days it is fairly likely that I haven't showered in that many days either. (I know way too much information being shared.) It has been a week of not accomplishing much of anything.

There are many serious pitfalls of working at home. Not interacting with human beings from the outside world on a daily basis being a huge one. Because I don't always deal with other people doesn't mean I can't look my best or at least better than I have for the past few days. Oh, but wait - I DID interact with 4 customers two nights ago. When they left I noticed my shirt had some very lovely looking stains on the front and I had on those same tacky looking polar fleece pants that could be considered "waders". What a great "best foot forward" that was. NOT!

This morning I read a family member's blog. His post was about how good looking people do better in business. It was about putting a smile on your face and putting your best foot forward. Dress to impress. I realized that even if I don't go out into the working world every day how I dress and what my appearance looks like DOES have a direct affect on my attitude. Which in turn has an affect on my business.

Your attitude is affected by many things. Some things we can control others we can't. Our attitudes affect not only our business relationships but ALL of our relationships. Spouses/partners, children, parents and friends.

So today I am off to shower, put on a pair of jeans I like to wear, a warm sweater and my red cowboy boots. Then I am off to shop for a new business casual wardrobe. Little changes in your appearance can make big changes in your attitude. And your attitude colors the rest of your world.

I'll keep you posted as to how my attitude changes as I make an effort to put my best foot forward. Will my confidence change? Will I be able to get my business to be more manageable. Will I get things accomplished during the day to make time for ME? We'll see. Only time will tell.

Who else wants to take the challenge? Should we call it the Get out of the Funk Challenge?