What Will Your Costume Be?

Happy month of Halloween, everyone!  Halloween is one of my favorite holidays with the smell of crisp leaves, access to copious amounts of candy and the opportunity to dress up.  I've always been a big fan of dressing up in costume.  It could be my background in musical theater (being the tush of the camel in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat counts, right?) or that it feels fun to act so silly.  I think when it really comes down to it, though, I like dressing up in costume because it feels freeing to be someone else for a while.  

We are all seen in a certain way.  Think of a word or two that people have always used to describe you.  Nice?  Funny?  Smart?  Successful?  We've all been called things that are not nearly so positive as well, but let's not even go there for now.  I'm a big believer that we all have various sides- it just so happens that one side is typically taking the lead!  Tired of being nice or funny or smart all the time?  It's exhausting right?!  Here's my challenge for you: find a "costume" for this month that is the opposite of your go-to trait.  Let it be something you've always wanted to try but didn't think you had it in you.  It could be a trait that you admire in someone else that you want to "try on", so to speak.  Here's an example: I was always known as nice.  Sure, better that than mean or angsty but sometimes it felt vanilla and just plain boring.  My costume for this month will be a badass clad in black leather with piercings and tattoos.  No, I won't dress in this get up every day or maybe even at all.  However, I will carry the spirit of it and it will empower me to stand my ground, speak my mind, and be ok with people not liking me all the time.  Get it? Eventually, it'll start to feel less like a costume or an act and more like a part of you.  The more you practice this aspirational side, the more it becomes a natural part of you that you can call on whenever you need it. 

What'll your costume be?  Be in contact if you want to discuss this more!  I do this type of work with my clients to increase self awareness and break out of go-to habits. Happy Halloween! Mwaaahahahah!