Harriet M. Welch

So the Style Statement is more than how you dress, or how you look. According to the book:

“Your Style Statement defines your authentic self. It is a compass for making more powerful choices, a guide for designing a life that reflects your whole being. An anchor, a symbol, a mantra. A declaration, an affirmation, a reminder. You, fully expressed.

Knowing your Style Statement helps you make empowered decisions – from your wardrobe and home to your relationships and work. When the spirit and the look and feel of your life are connected to your true nature, you feel at home wherever you are. You walk taller. You think more clearly. And the world responds accordingly.”

Doesn’t that sound encouraging? All of that just by defining two little words. But I’m really rather inspired by all of this. Graceful Creative took the eight areas defined in the book (home, fashion, spirit, service, relationships, creativity, body, and nature) and developed goals for herself based on her Style Statement. I’ve always thought goals are an important part of life, for without goals what is the point of getting out of bed every day? But it’s hard to give yourself goals without direction, and by defining my Style Statement I feel I can set goals based on my true self. At least it’s a start – a jumping off point.

When my kids were young it was easy, I had one major goal – raise my kids into responsible, loving, respectful adults. When that goal is over, then what? So now I plan to set some goals for each of the eight areas, and see where it takes me.

Considering I want to die before I turn 50, and that will be in 11 months, I’m wondering if this process can change my decision.

Tags: creativity, death

I have come up with my Style Statement! Yes, it’s very exciting. It took me a while to figure out my 80% foundation word. I had narrowed it down to:

Comfort
Constructed
Contemporary
Designing
Genuine
Innovative
Organic
Simple
Structured

After thinking about it, I decided that “Contemporary” encompasses all of these other words. According to the book, Contemporary:

Has a strong presence, because they are indeed “present”. Contemporary looks you in the eye. They are up-to-date and current with what matters most to them and are typically interested in social and cultural issues. They stay on top of things; they make time work for them; they look to the future. Progressive thinkers, they seek out leading-edge ideas and people to help them get where they want to go. Contemporary is often champion of a cause. They prefer to interact with genuine and authentic people but can tolerate many types of personalities in order to achieve their goals, from having a good time to purpose-driven missions. In overdrive, Contemporary can be forceful or critical, especially of themselves and their healthy limitations. Living from a place of inspiration and always curious, Contemporary turns possibility into real time, with pragmatism, common sense, and a clarity of commitment.

Look and feel: Modern; in style but not necessarily trendy; potentially avant-garde; clean, new, well-cared for. Simple lines; open spaces and surfaces.

I was having trouble with my 20% word. I was playing around with:

Comfort
Creative
Dedicated
Flourish
Innovative
Inspiration
Intuitive
Meaningful
Organic

But I decided on “Integrity”. According to dictionary.com integrity means:

• adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty
• the state of being whole, entire, or undiminished
• the quality or condition of being whole or undivided; completeness
• the state or quality of being entire or complete; wholeness; entireness; unbroken state
• moral soundness; honesty; freedom from corrupting influence or motive
• unimpaired, unadulterated, or genuine state

What resonates with me is the adherence to moral and ethical principles, honesty, unimpaired, whole, and genuine. I try to live my life in accordance with my principles, I try to be honest and unimpaired, and I’d like to be whole and genuine. I’m not always successful, but I’m trying!

So my style statement is:

Contemporary Integrity

Has a nice sound to it, doesn’t it?

Tags: creativity

I’m reading Style Statement: Live by Your Own Design by Danielle LaPorte and Carrie McCarthy. It’s a very interesting book and has a series of questions that allow you to become introspective and take a little journey into figuring out who you really are. Some quotes from the book that resonate with me:

“Communicating who you are in all you do is very powerful stuff.”

“When you are adrift from your core, the space between your surface and your depth fills up with anxiety.”

“We desire to belong and to be seen for who we are.”

“The point is to affirm an identity that reflects the real you.”

I would love to affirm the real me and have it be accepted by everyone I know. I guess that is what it all comes down to for me, and that is currently the journey I am on.

I’m going through the questions in the book, some are easy, some very difficult. Life is divided into eight areas: Home & Stuff, Fashion & Sensuality, Spirit & Learning, Service & Wealth, Relationships & Communication, Creativity & Celebration, Body & Wellness, and Nature & Rest and Relaxation.

At the end, after doing all of the exercises, you end up with a two word style definition – the first word is your 80% foundation word – the core of who you are, your essential self; and the second is your 20% creative edge, your distinction, what moves you forward. In other words, your foundation word represents your being and your creative edge is how you express and distinguish your being.

It’s very fascinating, and I’m really stuck right now on my 80% word. There is a sentence in the book that probably explains why I’m having trouble: “For many people, it’s easy to express and practice the spirit of their foundation word. For others, it represents an aspect of their life that they need to give themselves full permission to embrace and to be.” I’m in the “for others” category I think.

Tags: creativity