I went to 7-11 just to pick up a gallon of milk. I was in old sweatpants and my hubby’s oversized sweatshirt, hair in a half-knot. As I stepped out of the car, I looked down at my awful attire, and pictured Stacey and Clinton (from “What Not to Wear”) attacking me, throwing me into a van, and forcing me to watch secret footage of my fashion faux-pas.

Who am I? I don’t recognize this woman- if you ask any of my old friends I wouldn’t even leave the house without a little lip gloss on, let alone as if I was ready to clean my bathroom.

The funny thing was, I didn’t think there was anything really wrong with my outfit until I looked down at the hole in my knee- there’s got to be a line drawn somewhere, right?

You see, I believe we are “inside-out” beings, what we feel on the inside can come through on the outside, and sometimes the way we look on the outside can affect the way we feel on the inside. Maybe I was feeling like a lazy Sunday lounge, a little exhausted from having not slept the night before, and just wanted to get the milk and get home.

There are days where I feel energized, excited, and a bright flowery dress serves perfectly to suit my mood. I’m happy to say I am energized more than not, but, then this question came to mind- what about those days when you just aren’t feeling totally alive, can you or should you “fake it”? I’ve read a lot lately about tricking yourself into a different mood just by acting like it.

I mean, the benefits of being happy are clear: more productive, better relationships, less stress, healthier heart, heck the Mayo Clinic even did a study that found optimists live longer than pessimists. I am all for seeing the glass half full, smiling at strangers, being kind to yourself and others. Count me in.

But, do we really need to be dressed UP and ON all of the time? What about just “being”? Just being at peace. ..Just being in the moment…Just being ok with holey sweats sometimes and a cute ensemble other times?  Do we really need to judge ourselves or others, can’t we just “be”?

In the moment that I noticed my outfit, I felt myself being affected by the way I looked on the outside and moving towards a funk. I almost didn’t even want to make eye contact with anyone. But, then, I realized there’s nothing worse than a sour puss, regardless of what I was wearing or how sloppy I was feeling, so I walked into 7-11, smiled at the cashier, complimented a woman on her broach, and was on my way back home to run around the yard with my kiddies – energized and excited even in my horrible outfit.

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