Life's Negotiations

Talk about dressing to impress....I had a great conversation with a friend the other day. We both admitted to changing what we wore depending on the friends we were hanging out with.

This was a strange realization for two reasons -- one, because we did this not as teenagers fitting into clicks, but as adults. And two, because it's the kind of thing you don't normally confess. (Or at least I don't.)

Thing is, our reasons for altering our ensembles had little to do with yearning for acceptance. Instead, it was one example of how we energetically tried to match the feeling of the groups we were with.

Go with me here...

Another example is leaving my introvert self at home when I'm hanging with high energy, ultra-socializing friends. Trying to match their loud antics and exhausting myself in the process. Sometimes it can be fun to take on a new persona, including dress code, and sometimes it can sap my energy unnecessarily.

But there's a way to take advantage of this skill. Reading a group's energy and understanding what's needed at a given moment...what's happening in a room emotionally and unsaid...that's useful. It could be honed in order to know when to bring up a sensitive topic or whether that class you signed up for will be

It has me paying more attention to the mood in a room, that's for sure.