I went out to run errands the other day. When I got to my first stop, I realized I had on two different shoes. One was soft black leather. The other was bright red patent leather.
Have you ever had that dream where you show up naked for school or work? What does Dream You do? Hide? Run for cover? Wrap a towel around yourself? Years ago, Dream Toni decided she was going to go with it. She adopted a this-is-exactly-how-I-wanted-to-look attitude. Could I do that in real life when it was only mismatched shoes? How much do I care what other people think of me?
Many of us, especially as we get older, say that we don’t care what others think of us. But if we’re honest, we probably do more than we let on.
We find it difficult to say no, especially if we don’t have a reason we think others will accept. Is wanting to stay home and watch the Bachelor a good enough excuse to not go to that Tupperware party all your gossipy neighbors will attend? Can you say no when a friend asks you to feed their cat because you don’t want to?
Of course you can. Will you? That depends on how much you care about what they’ll think.
I sat in my car outside the UPS store and considered my options. I could go home and change my shoes. Or I could finish my errands with a confidence that said two different shoes was the latest style. Remember when Lady Di started the trend of wearing two wristwatches? Or, if asked, I could admit that I’d absentmindedly stuck my feet into a dark closet.
I decided to go with the mismatched shoes. I’m pretty sure no one noticed. We’re typically too wrapped up in our own heads to notice what strangers have on. And if we do notice, do we care? And if we do care, is it a big deal?
Being authentic means caring what we think of ourselves. It means caring for ourselves. Watch your favorite show rather than do something that doesn’t interest you. Say no to cat-sitting because that’s not how you want to spend your time. Admit your mistakes, knowing that we’re all human and we all make them.
Be unapologetically you, flaws and all.
