Fancy clothes back in the closet right now?

It is in challenging times (COVID-19) that we learn what is important and what is not. But do we honestly have to wait for challenging times to know what matters to us and what does not? It is much like when we want to dress up and look gorgeous that we know which outfit to put on.

It was just a day before the South African national lockdown that I shared with Thembisile Duma, our fashion stylist, my thoughts about our most valued clothing items. Well, the lockdown is scheduled to last for 21 days, but some expect it to last longer and this will be dependant on how the general population complies. My thought were about how since most of us will be home for 21 days and we will not be needing our work clothes while we are grounded for 21 days.

In one of her blog posts, Thembisile writes about “how we are dressed affects our personality” and this is one of my favorite quotes by her. Let’s look at the reason I thought it was important for us to cover the “putting away our valued clothes” during the national lockdown. Well, many may argue that it is practically pointless to wear your valued items while you are at home with no literal movement and that is with reason. Our valued clothing items are reserved only for special occasions.

Wouldn’t you agree that our lives are a special occasion daily? Think of all the great plans and ideas that you have kept in the closet of your mind and heart for a long time without trying to execute them because maybe just like your valued items that are waiting for a special occasion, you are waiting for the right time.

What would happen if we treated ourselves and lives as special occasions daily, whether we feel like it or not, and put on those great ideas that we have kept in the closets on our minds for years? I believe our lives would be a lot better than how we are right at this moment. Some of us even shy away from dressing up for special occasions because we think we will be “over-dressed” and because of that thinking, we end up settling for just the ordinary. Similarly, to our great ideas that we are fearful to execute because we think we will either be misunderstood and maybe think the idea is way too bigger than us.

Ordinary thinking produces ordinary results – Itumeleng Mzimba

Let’s use this time to think of all the parked ideas and plans we have shunned away from executing. Do you think your life is a special occasion? How will you revisit the closet of your mind? How will you execute your ideas?

imzimba blogger/coach

Itumeleng