Graduation Day

Last week, Megan commented that one of her "life hacks" was to stop fighting the things she needed to do, and just get them done. This idea really resonated with me as I often procrastinate about things I know I won't enjoy, but need to do. This week I watched Redesign My Brain with Todd Sampson, a series about using brain neuro-plasticity to improve your life. (Free to watch on iview if your are interested) This episode, he demonstrated that many physical limits were really just our brains giving up, something that apparently occurs long before our bodies reach their true limit. He showed that learning to accept and tolerate pain in the service of a goal will allow us to achieve far more than we think.  So I am going to start practicing acceptance of the discomfort or boredom or pain that comes with some of my tasks and start focussing instead on the achievements that come from just getting on with it.

                                             Knit: ScanlonThodore
                                             Jeans: Esprit
                                             Boots: Wittner

These thoughts were especially at the top of my mind when we went out last night to celebrate my sister-in-law's completion of her Master's degree. We all recognise the sacrifice and effort that it took for her to get this done and also the great sense of achievement that comes from finishing it. This is a variation of what I wore for the evening. The temperature is down to under 10 degrees in the evenings now, so I dressed with warmth as my primary consideration and I actually wore the cardigan I showed you last month over the top of the knit. I have recently discovered that turtlenecks, which always looked awful on me when I had breasts, actually look quite good with a flat chest and the bonus is that it keeps my neck really cosy! This knit is fine but warm and I think the loose shape and asymmetric hemline are quite flattering as they draw the eye downward.

We had a yummy Vietnamese meal, then went to Cloudland where I had another lesson in tolerating pain. I felt simultaneously underdressed and overdressed amongst all the beautiful young things in their short, shiny, backless, low-cut cocktail dresses. Bling and skin were definitely the order of the evening. I'm not quite sure how they managed to avoid feeling uncomfortably cold, but maybe they are prepared to tolerate pain in the service of looking fabulous!
Are you willing to suffer for beauty?

Graduation Day by Chris Isaak