Continuing with our “30 Chic Days,” I am pleased to report that my efforts on Day 2 (“Eat real food”) were positive. Remember, I picked three small changes to make – eat at least one piece of fruit and two vegetables and drink a large glass of water before bed. For the fruit, I mixed tart cherry juice that I had in the fridge with seltzer, which kept the juice from seeming heavy. I chopped and sliced veggies for a salad to go with dinner and, since I already had the chopping board out, went ahead and made another salad for today’s lunch. I took Mme. Ferris’s advice from Day 1 and turned off all screens early, choosing instead to read old-fashioned print and had my large glass of water. She’s right – little changes are easy! Avoid feeling as if you need to change EVERYTHING, RIGHT NOW! and adopt small steps instead.
For Day 3, Mme. Ferris advised me to “bathe myself in mystique.” Now, I’m not at all sure about that. I’m not sure I’m the “mystique” type. I certainly am not the quiet type and, like most Americans, I’ll talk about myself at the drop of a hat. (“Oh, is this your hat? Why, it looks a little like the one I got when I saw my first Baltimore Orioles game. Let me tell you all about it . . . “) Reading more deeply into Day 3, she’s not advocating that you move through life under an assumed name; just that you cultivate a perimeter of privacy. Your colleagues – and yes, even your friends and loved ones – don’t really need to know every single solitary detail about you, particularly if your comments are going to be centered on aches, pains, and troubles. Accept compliments graciously and try to talk to others about themselves instead of putting yourself forward as the topic.
Honestly, this sounds like good advice. But it also sounds difficult for someone like me who has spent so much time learning to feel good taking up space without apology. Check in with me tomorrow to see how Day 3 turns out – and to see what Mme. Ferris has in store for our next task!
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