At my pedicure appointment, I picked out a shade of purple but had no specific design in mind. My nail tech asked if she could do what she wanted and I (foolishly) said yes.
I ended up with five different colors on my toes, plus additional glitter on top. It’s a polish job that made my 7-year-old, friendship-bracelet-wearing, sparkle-and-sequin-loving neighbor envious.
I knew as soon as she did it that I didn’t like it. She could tell, and even offered to re-polish them right then. The words: “YES, PLEASE” were formed in my mind, but what came out of my mouth was: “No, it’s ok.”
That’s because in my head all I could think about was what I tell my students and workshop participants — that you need to get uncomfortable with the small things. You need to take risks, experiment, and live with things for a while rather than change them back right away. You need to practice going outside your comfort zone, starting with things that don’t have big consequences.
So, for the next four weeks, I’m uncomfortable with how my toes sparkle, but I’m comfortable with how I leaned into the discomfort on something that doesn’t matter. The next time you’re tempted to instantly remove the polish, try to live with it instead.
