How do I show up? It’s one of the core Living Savvy questions and it revolves around the idea that how we present ourselves to the world reflects our personal beliefs, choices and actions – ideally all in alignment.
What about when our personal choices run up against our ‘labels’?
They’re tricky things, labels. They’re often assigned to us with a whole lot of expectations that we didn’t necessarily sign up for. Expectations around how we should dress and behave and talk. Expectations that don’t always align with our personal choices.
Take the label ‘WAGs’…
That’s for the Wives And Girlfriends of sportsmen. It seems to guarantee a certain level of public scrutiny and attract a good amount of ridicule if said public scrutiny is not handled well. As was the case when Haley Bracken was judged to have had a ‘frock shock’ at the Allan Border Medal awards night last month, with her self-designed, see-through mesh, floral mermaid gown.
Dare to be different
Good-natured Mia Freedman suggested Haley be given a break as at least she’s not, unlike many celebrities, been styled within an inch of her life by fashionista clone creators. Do we expect everyone to get it perfectly right every time? Wouldn’t if be boring if we did? There are certainly photographs in my own album that I look back on and wonder, “What the hell was I thinking?!” But hey, I was expressing myself and trying something different. Better that then to be lost in the crowd I say. So, good on Haley for giving it a go and showing us her own unique style.
And different again
Then there’s inspirational women (who also carry the label of WAG), like Tracy Bevan who helped set up the McGrath Foundation with her best friend Jane McGrath, who lost her fight with breast cancer in 2008. Tracy is now the Executive Director of the Foundation and continues to work tirelessly to increase awareness of the disease and to raise funds. Like I said, labels are tricky things. However, ultimately, I believe that each of us defines our own personal brand, regardless of the labels others might apply. The question is: how will you choose to show up?
Image by Jennifer Su
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