Dressing for Success

I work part of each day in two separate offices. One is a small architecture firm run by two guys who are amazing businessmen and have worked really hard to stay open and profitable through the housing bubble crash and the financial bubble crash. The other is a small non-profit run by about 200 dedicated members and 1 Executive Director (all women) and they have successfully reduced their deficit budget over the last three years - far ahead of the 5 year plan they implemented.

The dress code at both places is mostly casual, sometimes we step it up to business casual, but that isn't generally gonna happen. Jeans, holey sweaters, Keens - you know, not so much what some might think "dressing for success" looks like. But as I was showering after my C25K workout, I realized the clothes aren't what scream success, it is their healthy lifestyles. One of the architects came back from lunch and was crowing about how he ran 10 miles in an hour - and showing off his stats in MapMyFitness. The other one came into work that morning drooling over some new bicycle. The runner is a marathoner and has run the NY marathon in addition to the ones around town; the biker has done the STP (Seattle to Portland) bike race in one day the last couple of years and RAMROD (a bike race around Mt Rainier) twice, as well. Then, I thought about my ED; SHE walks 4 miles and her "walk" takes her straight up 500 ft of elevation at mile 3.2 - and she does yoga 3-4 times a week. When we are in work/project crunches, there is constant push from everyone to make sure we all get our workouts in. It isn't about getting home to the kids and families (although that gets mentioned, too) as much as it is, "I need to leave by X so that I can get my ride/walk/run in."

 

So, as I lose weight and gain activity, I find myself chomping at the bit to "dress for success" as they do. I too am excited to talk about my Dirty Girl Runs and my progress with increased activity.