Wednesday, September 21, 2011

When in doubt . . .


When in doubt
When in doubt dress like you're french.










Something I've noticed about myself as of late is that I've been coming up with a lot of "When in doubt," rules for myself. The truth is that in life there is a lot of doubting. Doubt about the economy, doubt about the government, doubt about the education system, and for a lot of people doubt about themselves.


Doubt is a tricky thing. It's not really a very negative sentiment because you just aren't sure about something. Being 100% certain about something always feels a whole lot better than being in doubt. So in order to lead happy lives we sometimes need to trick ourselves into feeling confident and certain about our choices. So I've made a list of some of my "When in doubt," rules and maybe you'll take some into your own way of thinking.


1. When in doubt, eat a banana. 
Women starve themselves as punishment. I know because I do it. If you overindulge on the weekend, you feel like you need to fast for 3 days in order to make up for it. That's crazy. I do it, and it's crazy.


Well, I used to do it. 
One night when I had a particularly busy day and hard work out, I had a small dinner and went to bed, then could not fall asleep because I was still hungry. I knew if I ate something over 200 calories I'd go over my goal for the day (I calorie count) and that it's also not that great to eat before bed. So I wandered downstairs and grabbed a banana. I was out 10 minutes later.


Why a banana?
Banana's are a serious fruit. Seriously. They are high in potassium, which is great for your body, and are digested quickly which boosts your metabolism, but still satisfies your hunger pains.
I tend to grab one before the gym because I'm not a huge breakfast person and don't like to eat a lot in the morning, but if I don't eat before I work out I'm dying within the first 15 minutes. 


So when in doubt, eat a banana.


2. When in doubt, buy it in black or white.
I have so many tops that I have given away because it just didn't go with anything else in my closet. I'm in the process of trying to develop a more adult, classic wardrobe, so I've purged anything I haven't worn in the last 6 months. My new rule is if I am unsure of an item, and it comes in several colors, I buy it in black or white.
Black and white go with everything. So if you find something you really think you can't live without in a crazy color, like plum, you know you have things to go with it. (#Cream, AKA off white goes great with plum.)


3. When in doubt, write it down.
I'm a huge self-talker, and I journal all the time about really stupid things. I've gotten distressed about wanting to lose 4 lbs of water weight, or wanting to wear suspenders. But if I write about these really stupid things, I find that when I go back and read it, I realize what issues were really important, and what was stupid and I appreciate my life more and find it easier to improve as a person. I figure out when I was the most confident about myself, and when I was the most insecure, then I look at the factors around them and really analyze how my mood, and other factors might affect my life. 


4. When in doubt, wear a blazer (or bring a sweater)
I'm always cold and I lived in my New Paltz sweatshirt in college. As comfy as that thing is, it's gross. Those sweatshirts are never flattering on anyone. They're over-sized, they make everyone look pregnant, and they scream "I've never grown up."  I have a vast collection of cardigans and 3 really good blazers. Anyone that knows me knows I'm huge on blazers. I think they make everyone look awesome, stylish, but laid back. I could be wrong, but I don't care. I love them. Seriously, wear a blazer. Or at least a really nice cardigan.


5. When in doubt, bring flats.
I am notorious for carrying large bags because I carry my life in them. I carry my Barnes & Noble Nook, or whatever book I may be reading at the moment...(right now it's Oedipus & Night by Elie Wiesel for the classes I'm student teaching) a journal, for keeping notes, a planner, a wallet, keys, and whatever touch up stuff I might need for make up (although I don't usually reapply during the day), and a pair of ballet flats if I'm wearing shoes higher than 3 inches. 
I love heels and am working my way up to wearing the 6 inchers to work again, (I'm starting out small and working up) but sometimes you gotta rip them off and shove on some flats. 
I love my gap-city flats I got 2 years ago because they fold up and come in a pouch.


That's my 5 when in doubt rules for now. I'll probably follow up on this in other posts. Hope you enjoyed my rambling and crazy ideas!!




H m blazer
£30 - hm.com


GAP ballet flat
$40 - gap.com


ASOS drop earrings
$11 - asos.com


Pashmina shawl
$20 - modcloth.com


2 comments:

  1. Love this! Totally true and makes me want to write my own list! Here are a few I thought of:

    When in doubt... sleep on it. Waking up to a new day and a fresh start almost always feels better.

    When in doubt...be your own best friend. Treat yourself really well and always be caring and considerate of yourself and your own needs.

    When in doubt...take a few minutes to sit, think and do NOTHING. Basically a simple form of meditating. Sitting and thinking without the distraction of a phone, magazine or TV is hard, but very necessary for exploring your thoughts and putting them in some sort of order.

    There we go! What do you think?!

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