How do you get ‘ready’ for work?  What do you do to prepare yourself to give a presentation?  Or to have a challenging conversation?  How do you don the mantle of your career?

I got intrigued with some of the creative ways we do this while reading a recent blog by my friend, Rachel Boehm. In The Clothes Make the Man she talked about the subtle messages our clothes send to others and ourselves.  Part of her sharing was this great story about how she felt more strong and capable when wearing high heels, so she donned some to plunge into fixing the clogged kitchen sink.  The heels helped her get the job done!

What we wear doesn’t just send signals to others, it helps us ‘don the mantle’, doesn’t it?  We take on the authority of the position.  We step into it.

Of course all this is metaphor.  The symbols help us ‘stand’ in the role.  No wonder It’s often about shoes and feet.  It sure was for Dorothy—from following the yellow brick road to clicking the heels of her ruby slippers together.  We feel different in flip-flops than heels.

For some of us it’s a conscious act.  Long ago in the ’80s I had a co-worker named Martha.  Part of her job as the Finance Manager in that company was to make collection calls.  Trust me, that can be a daunting thing for both parties on the call.  The way she gathered her personal power to make those calls was by wearing her pearls.

What we are really doing with all this is both making a declaration, and gathering talents and strengths together.  The shoes, or jewelry, or whatever just help to remind us.  Additionally by using them, seeing them, feeling them we open those neural pathways in our brains where all the positive association around them live.

I take my maternal grandmother with me everywhere I go in the form of a ring that was hers.  As I do that I bring her qualities to life in me—things like fortitude, kindness, and even poise—which I need more of!  When I’m doing a talk or presentation my other grandmother brings her feisty, fearless self to me.  Together the talismans and ancestors all support us.

What do you don to set the tone and take up the mantle?

Oh, and just for grins, what talisman or item of clothing or jewelry might help you uncover and rely on a part of you that would be more helpful and effective with money?  And please, don’t make it a green eye shade… that would likely have the opposite effect!

I invite you to become even more conscious of this idea of creating intention through symbols that serve you.

Ka-ching

Shell Tain, the Untangler

I’d love to hear what item works well for you.  Give me a call at 503-258-1630 or leave a comment.