I’ll never forget when somebody criticized a high school friend of mine on her desire to “look good” before playing in soccer games. The criticism being around the idea that she’s going to play a sport and get dirty and sweaty and messy anyway… so why do all of that extra “look good” work before the practices and games?
She replied simply, “When I look good, I feel good. And when I feel good, I play better.”
And it really does play out like that.
When we’re feeling our outfit… we’re also feeling more confident… and our actions reflect that versus what we might’ve done if we were feeling self-conscious and awkward. And better actions, of course, lead to better results and outcomes.
I recognize a similar correlation when it comes to martial arts. The students who take the time to get their uniform right and look sharp also tend to be the students with the sharper technique. And the ones who arrive disheveled, tend to have sloppier technique.
The reminder today is simple: invest a little more time, energy, and/or effort into feeling good. Whether that’s in your appearance, your fit, your workspace, your room, your wellness routine… it’s all correlated. And by investing into the one… you’ll likely be pleasantly surprised to find some positive returns in the other aspects of your life as well.