Challenges

   As I’m writing this on my Writing Monday, I’m typing away comfortably on my living room couch as I usually do. The only difference on this Monday, which is November 1, is that I’m wearing a new blue wool dress, and some green leggings (the leggings came from Scotland!). Blue and green aren’t my usual colors, and a dress is not my usual go-to wear, especially for a day off. But I’ve taken on a new challenge, the “100 Day Dress Challenge.”  The company that makes the dress, Wool&, has created this challenge – to wear the same dress for 100 days straight, for a few reasons. I’m guessing the first is to sell dresses, but along with that, the company suggests that wearing the same outfit for 100 days will reduce my daily “decision fatigue.” I won’t be troubled by having to make decisions about what to wear on top of all the other decisions, large and small, that I ponder in the course of the day. My wardrobe isn’t extensive anyway, and I don’t think I spend a lot of time contemplating what to wear each day, but I do give it some thought. We’ll see if my decision fatigue lessens.
   The other issue this 100 Day Dress Challenge solves, according to the folks at Wool&, is “the spotlight effect.” I had not heard of this before, but we may be so concerned about what other people think of what we’re wearing, that we feel the spotlight is on us, when in reality, people aren’t really paying that much attention to the clothes we choose to show up in at work or wherever. I feel like the spotlight effect is not strong in Vermont or the NEK, where, some exceptions, “business casual” is the usual for the workplace, and a pair of black jeans and a fleece vest are often the go-to basics for going out. And no one is really judging. That’s not likely the case in other places.
   The main reason for stepping into the 100 Day Dress challenge is that it’s fun to take on a new challenge every now and then, try something different, go on an adventure. This is a fairly tame one at that. The dress is a comfy, light wool, with pockets even. The rules require that I wear it eight hours a day, and take a selfie each day to document that I’ve worn it. (It rinses out easily for overnight washing and wearing.) Other challenges I’ve taken on have been much more demanding. I once trained for a year and half to run the Marine Corps Marathon with my running partners Betty and Denise. Others were less strenuous, like sending a card or letter to a friend once a week. Two of my daughters are working on reading a book a month this year. They’ve also committed to trying new recipes weekly. My twin sister Ann and her husband, Alan, have taken on a grand new challenge. They’re beginning their retirement by traveling to the highest point in each state. They won’t do it all in one trip, but they’ve already headed down the east coast, where the high points aren’t too high, then headed west through Texas to New Mexico and will turn back to Vermont soon. Alan completed one of the ultimate challenges a few years ago, when he hiked the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine. And because not all challenges have to be so monumental, last summer Ann climbed all 15 of the fire towers in Vermont. It usually involved a shot hike and some stair climbing, but it got her to some really interesting corners of Vermont that she ordinarily would not have visited, and she saw some impressive views.
   I’ve always admired the people, often parent and child duos, who head out to visit all the baseball parks in the US, or families who create a trip to visit all 50 states together, or camp in all the National Parks. There’s a plan and a goal, and better yet a journey with good company. The 26.2 miles I ran in Washington D.C. for the Marine Corps Marathon remain a vivid memory, but the many, many miles I ran with Betty and Denise in the year and a half leading up to getting to the starting line are what I really treasure. Ann and Alan will be taking photos of themselves at the high point of each state they visit, but I’m sure it’ll be the stories from the road that they will remember most.
   The other day I ordered a reflective sign to hang on the front of my garage that says “Live A Good Story.” It’s going to be a good reminder for me, when I pull into my driveway at the end of each day, to make my life a good story, one that includes some challenges, fun ones and demanding ones. In the meantime, I’ll be wearing my blue dress, plotting the next challenge.
 
P.S. Nov. 8 – Writing in good faith, I need to let you know that I’ve already stopped the 100 Day Dress Challenge. I’m writing today in my usual spot, wearing my familiar, comfy jeans. My effort to meet the challenge lasted not quite a week. On Saturday morning I put on my jeans and my “Bartlett for American ‘98” sweatshirt to get my trash and recyclables ready to drop off at EZ-Trash, and I kept them on all day. There was no blue dress and no selfie. Although wearing the dress to work did accomplish a few things, it got to be more of a hindrance when it was supposed to simplify things, and I didn’t like doing it. The old Ben & Jerry’s bump sticker came to mind – If It’s Not Fun, Why Do It. There are many times in life when we’re obligated or required to do things we don’t like, but wearing a dress for 100 days is not one of those for me.
   But I did learn a few things. No one said anything to me about wearing the dress to work, after more than a decade of never wearing a dress there, and no one mentioned that fact that I wore it all week. A few people said something, “Nice dress” or “I like that color,” but no one commented when they saw it for multiple days. Maybe I was a victim of “the spotlight effect,” thinking I would hear more comments. The dress did start a few interesting conversations when I explained to some coworkers what I was doing. We talked about how we perceive ourselves and how we think others perceive us by what we wear. One coworker said she may challenge her twin daughters, high school seniors, to wear the same outfits for a while to see what classmates’ reactions are.
   As my daughter Molly said when I explained my 100-day dress plan to her, “I like it in theory.” Maybe I will come up with a writing challenge as opposed to a wearing challenge. In the mean time my reflective “Live A Great Story” sign arrived and it’s hanging up near my garage door. Each time I pull into my driveway after dark, sometime mid-afternoon these days, it will glow in my headlights and I will be considering what great story I’m creating.