What happens when you dress differently?

Want to know the fastest way to find out what your friends think of you?

Change your wardrobe. Try it and watch.

If you’ve been wearing t-shirts and jeans your whole life, expect comments like these the first time you throw on a blazer:

• “Whoa. Who are you trying to impress?” (The coded message — “don’t get too big for your britches”)
• “Where are you going dress liked THAT?” (The implication — “you need an occasion to look good”)
• “Stick to what you know, dude.” (“You’re changing and I don’t like it”)

I know, because people said all these things to me! And many of us have said similar things ourselves. But it’s not selfish or shallow to look your best. How you dress is a huge part of living a Rich Life. Looking great and feeling great matters a lot.

In fact, dressing well improves your own feelings about yourself. A 2015 study from Columbia University found that dressing sharply “made people feel more powerful, which in turn made them more likely to adopt high-level, abstract thinking.”

My whole experience of life changed when I went from looking like this…

To this…

STOP! Notice the first thoughts that pop into our head:

• “Oh, so I need to wear a blazer every day to look my best? Forget it.”
• “Your wardrobe is the only reason you have a video crew and a successful business?”
• “Must be nice to buy whatever clothes you want. I can barely make rent!”

Look — you’re an adult. Wear what you want. I’m not your mom and I’m not telling you what to do.

What I am telling you is that my mood, my confidence, and how I connected with others all improved dramatically once I dressed better.

Maybe the research is wrong. Maybe I’m delusional. OR maybe those objections are excuses for ignoring your appearance.

I’m curious: If you ever felt like clothes didn’t matter — like I used to — what’s one phrase you told yourself? How did it hold you back?

Let me know in the comments below.

-Ramit

P.S. Want to uplevel your look? Check out this interview clip with Amy Salinger, the stylist who helped me upgrade my wardrobe. I love 2:35, where Amy explains why your clothes matter (even if clothes didn’t matter to you growing up.)

What happens when you dress differently? is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

from I Will Teach You To Be Rich http://ift.tt/2gc0srg
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