socks.revisited

i.love.socks. Irony? Contradiction? See my earlier blog post and you can decide. Regardless of my NN-rant back in January, I recently discovered a brilliant utility for these coverings of the feet. Their ability to refresh, change, and reset.

While traveling recently, I was in a funk. I was back at the airport, about to board yet another flight. Though I had found my recent travels to be fun, enlightening, and socially healthy, the constant change of cabin pressure can funkify someone rather quickly. While sitting on a bench, just past security, I noticed two business traveler types who had unzipped their bags and were in the process of changing their socks. Always one to be a first follower (at least of those who seem to have the right experience/viewpoint), I decided to do the same.

It was quite transcendental.

Turns out that the simple act of donning new, clean socks can radically shift your current situation.

Literally, it's a simple action. On the larger scale, however, it's a much more difficult process. When you find yourself weighted down at work, stressed, or just blue, it is unlikely that you have the capacity to change the larger issues. Emails, meetings, presentations, experiments, red tape, 'the matrix': all of these have the dual role of maintaining order and, at times, ensuring that you keep your socks on, however uncomfortable they might be.

However, we are all aware that it's the little things that get us through the day; it's the actions and environment that you do have control over that will shape your day; sometimes, it's a simple change that can radically shift the place that you are in.

You might not have the ability to change the structure (i.e., wardrobe) of your current team, but those socks you are wearing, those are yours. Why not change them? You might be surprised at how you feel.

shanti,
mjh