First impressions and whether they should count

I attended an interesting talk last week about the importance of making a good first impression. I agree that first impressions are supremely important in the world we currently live in, but I am not comfortable with this.

I was being gently cajoled into wearing more feminine clothes, healed shoes (despite a bad foot) and to wear make-up - something that feels (a) a waste of precious time and (b) not in alignment with a core value of mine - being authentic.

This event led to a dinner conversation with friends. One friend felt that my confidence in wearing no make-up was wonderful and should not be tampered with. Another felt that I should experiment and find a 'natural' made-up look... the implication, which I accept, is that I suffer in business through looking 'less professional' than other women.

However, a male client commented that he appreciated my lack of make-up - it makes me seem more authentic and confident in myself...

Today, a similar topic is taken up by USA Today - see http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2007/02/post_28.html. This discussed the merits or otherwise of the constant media obsession with what female politicians wear. The media seldom discusses male suits, so why the attention to female clothing?

I agree - there is no value in discussing how we dress, our choice of accessories, our make-up...

Which brings me to first impressions. I know we all make them. We are all making judgements all the time, leading to prejudice. I have discovered, partly through coaching, that first impressions are unreliable. There is not one person who doesn't possess amazing strengths and traits when you allow them time to shine through, if you can only ignore the temptation to jump to a quick judgement about them.

Whose side is God on?

Back in the USA and I read a great editorial in USA Today - see http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2007/02/the_danger_of_a.html. This article talks about the dangers of turning a blind eye to Israel's actions against Palestinians. A typical quote from here: "Israeli policy seems to create more terrorists than it destroys". A fantastic article which talks a lot of common sense.

We are all special

February's newsletter is the first in a 2-parter... on the subject of how special we all are, and the value of not judging ourselves or each other. See http://www.ambitioncoach.com/62652/90928.html.