faking my way to success

I woke up this morning feeling anything but ready for all that I knew was waiting for me in the office. I (and my student staff) worked until 1:45 this morning, addressing some significant flooding in our building's basement, which meant it was almost 3 am before I went to sleep. Not the way I would have liked to start the week.

But instead of just pulling my hair back into a sloppy ponytail, I took a few minutes to smooth my hair back, pin it neatly and tie a pretty scarf.

Instead of just throwing on a t-shirt and jeans (which I'm fortunate enough to have the luxury to do in my office), I took a few minutes to put on a nice blouse, khaki pants and a pair of cute sandals.

Because I was definitely exhausted...both from the physical work and stress of the night before, and from the lengthy mental checklist in my head of all the things to be done today in response. Yet I knew that, if I felt good about how I looked, it would help me feel good about my day...that, if I felt good about my day, it would make the checklist seem less daunting...that, if the checklist seemed less daunting, I wouldn't stress myself out so much...that, if I didn't stress myself out so much, I'd have a more productive, successful day.

And that? Is exactly what happened. Everything that needed to happen today? Happened. And then some.

And who knows? Perhaps it's an exaggeration of monumental proportions to believe that, because I liked the way I looked today, I had a more productive, accomplished work experience. I'm practical enough to recognize that I may just happen to work well under pressure, especially when I'm running on adrenaline (as I most certainly was). But how many times have we heard our mothers and aunts and grandmothers and other female elders insist on looking our best? Perhaps there's some truth to their cautions and nagging and picking...to the idea that we can boost our self-confidence (and thus, our success) with even a small amount of attention to our appearance.

Perhaps??

Where I am: home
What I'm reading: A Big Little Life by Dean Koontz