How often do you go for a haircut?
This question sparked a pivotal learning point for Jay Abraham as he divulged in an interview with Ramit Sethi. The learning from Jay resonated deeply with me in relation to a topic one of my coaching clients asked about. The topic of dressing for success.
How often do people get their haircut? The answer, gave the stylist: it varies greatly between people. Some people come in every month, every 3 months, every 6 months. With such a discrepancy in the frequency of visits, one must ask the question, why? It is usually very obvious when people come in from visiting a stylist, they look fresher, cleaner, more professional. Despite the cliche, "Don't judge a book by it's cover." We do judge. And when someone takes time to dress well, we notice, and it reflects well on them. There are a few elements at play here:
Confidence
Think of a well dressed lady or man. Their stature improves. They stand taller, smile broader. When someone knows they look good, they exude an aura of confidence that lets the world know, "Yeah, I've got this". Confidence itself leads to a wealth of benefits, all of which can be externally triggered by the simple act of dressing for success. These benefits include; openness to tackling challenges, increased professional performance, happiness, and health. Not only are we more willing, and even more capable of taking on our obstacles, our performance also increases. Without self-doubt, we end up smashing through obstacles that otherwise we would have turned back from. You can see the impact of confidence in a common martial art demonstration, punching through a plank of wood. The key to success in this maneuver is to strike through the wood, embracing the confidence that you can break through the wood. On the flip side, if you don't believe you can break the wood, you'll hesitate slightly which will reduce force, and the obstacle won't be broken. This analogy perfectly illustrates the benefits that confidence can have when facing professional challenges. And through this, confidence brings us to the other benefit of dressing for success, competence.
Competence
We need to dress the part for success, however that looks in your profession. You would be skeptical taking fitness advice from an overweight personal trainer, you may also discount any health advice received from a sick doctor. We expect people of their own craft to look and act the part. And that starts the moment we first see them. I would be concerned if my surgeon showed up to the operating room in sneakers and gym shorts, regardless of how talented she claimed to be. That same surgeon though, dressed in scrubs, would give me confidence that she knew her business, simply from how she dressed.
As the world becomes more progressive in their tolerances, some things will always hold their merit. And dressing well is one of those items. Regardless of the dress code for your profession, when you show up looking good, that speaks volumes.
So if there is one take-away here, keeping up with your appearance grants you confidence and an air of competence that immediately sets you at the front of the pack. Dressing for success is an easy way to get a leg up on your competition, and look good doing it!