A mullet (a hairstyle that is short in the front and sides, then long in the back that was popular from the 80's to the early 90's and proudly featured on the left) seems a tragic sign of indoctrination into a slow-to-adapt bureaucratic culture in which the wearer commits thirty years to filing into a building, 9-5, head down, not looking up or out into the world to see the possibilities that exist. The other day, I sadly (and fearfully) watched a woman leave her office for the last time, retiring from an unsatisfying job, unappreciated, self-esteem eroded and shoulders slumped with her mullet in tact. She had faded into the background, dulled by cumbersome chains of command, energized only by counting the years until retirement without questioning what was happening to her in the meantime. I nervously made my way to a mirror to ensure my inverted, swinging bob is anything but a mullet, frozen in time. Stuck.
We take shape in response to our surroundings, shining or losing our luster in the wake of the choices we make - i.e. friends, career, partners. Our environment can broaden or narrow our world, make or break our peace, energize or erode our souls. Indoctrination happens slowly, like an aging car that gets dinged, stained and trashed until eventually a junkyard is a palatable choice for the wheels you once treasured.
Perhaps the woman's happy ending or new beginning will be sheered locks and chains from her old life, freeing her to pursue her next chapter with renewed style and vigor. Or, maybe, she went home to a husband who loves her hair and everything about her, in which case my misguided, and just plain wrong, projections were a welcome jolt. I will question the surroundings and choices that highlight the best or worst in me - and take action. And, I will make my next hair appointment.
Be deliberate about the decisions you make and the world that you create around you. Life (and hair... ask my Mom about that one) is meant to be shaped and challenged, not a comfort zone where scared to change, thinking small and mullets exist.
- What choices and surroundings bring out the best in you?
- Where might you be in a comfort zone?
- Where can you be deliberate today to make your world bigger and brighter?
Note: The man pictured with a mullet in the cheesy leather vest is only an illustration to hide the identity of the woman I saw, reflect the sheer versatility of the style for men and women, introduce you to my new BF - and to make you laugh.
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