How you care for your self gives others an idea of how you value yourself. You know yourself better than anyone else does. If you don’t place enough value on yourself to take care of your personal grooming and cleanliness, why would they value you? You are setting the bar. All of LifeSkill Secrets is about personal responsibility for self care. That starts with caring about your own state of care.
My cousin had a plaque in his bathroom when we were kids that said,
“Cleanliness is next to Godliness, and next to impossible too.”
I still smile when I think about it, because I figured boys had a harder time keeping clean. Don’t know why I thought that, since my sister and I liked to dig holes in the dirt in the back yard.
If you are not paying attention to your personal grooming and cleanliness, you may be depressed. If you find that you’re letting cleanliness or grooming slip, you may want to look at what else is going on in your life that those things are not a priority. One of the first steps out of depression is to “live as though”, as if you were happy and therefore taking care of yourself. Taking a bath or shower and a getting a haircut can just make you feel better. Start in one area, and you may continue on until you are looking good.
Cleanliness is just a set of good habits.
Create habits to regularly:
- Bathe or shower at least every other day
- Use deodorant or antiperspirant (remember you cant smell your own body odor as much as others can)
- Don’t overdo scents (if you aren’t sure, ask someone- you may stink from trying to smell good)
- Clip and file nails – finger nails weekly, toe nails monthly
- Get a hair cut about once a month (some may need more often, some can go a couple of months)
- Tweeze eyebrows or clip nose hair as needed
- Shave at least every few days for men, even with stubble or beard- keep it neat
- Shave underarms and legs as needed (young women daily)
Personal grooming is creating a neat and tidy appearance.
Sadly, when I googled grooming for this post, the entire first page was about horses, dogs and cats. Does our society care more about how livestock and pets look than we do about ourselves?
Dressing like you care tells people that you care enough about yourself and them to get yourself together. That doesn’t mean that you always have to “dress up”, it just means that you look like you care about your appearance. Being groomed for a position means to be prepared for a particular purpose or activity. Personal grooming for a wedding would be different than grooming for a job interview.
Basics of Personal Grooming:
- Follow the cleanliness habits above
- Be sure your clothes (and shoes and socks or stockings)
- are clean
- don’t look like you slept in them
- fit you and go with each other
- are appropriate for the occasion and the company
- Check that your accessories
- are appropriate for the occasion and the company
- go with the rest of your outfit
You never know when you will meet a future employer, friend, lover, or for that matter, someone of whom you are a big fan. How do you want to look to those people? Imagine running into the person of your dreams (someone you really want to meet, or date, or know) and ask yourself if you would feel good meeting them as you are. If not, work on it. Seriously, over my life I met several people I was a huge fan of, and my future husband, all at times I did not expect to run into anyone. So, be prepared.
Take care of you. You are worth it!
In a later post, I will talk about developing a personal style. Don’t miss it.
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