Admit it. You have a shoe story to tell. I bet you have a hundred!
Maybe you wore two different shoes to work.  Maybe you’ve always wanted to have an expensive shoe. Or maybe, like me, you wanted your shoes make you feel “more.”  Here’s a shoe story that comes from the first chapter of my book, Rock Solid Confidence: Presenting Yourself with Assurance, Poise and Power. Â
I’d been looking for that trendy shoe; a cross between sandal and boot. I found a wonderful pair, but the heels were stilettos—much taller than my usual. The sales person, Tom, persuaded me to try them on anyway.
So I did.
Despite the fact that I felt like I was standing on my tippy toes, this new height gave me the ability to look straight into Tom’s eyes. I realized I was instantly, lushly tall. He saw the gleam in my eyes and suggested that I “walk in them for awhile.â€
So I did, and I fell in love with my new height, despite the fact that my right foot was beginning to hurt.
After much self-debate, I decided to get them. After all, they were on sale and (compelling reason #2), if I didn’t like them, I could give them to my niece Monica, who wears the same size. Never mind she’s already 5’11†and why would she want my leftover shoes?
I made my decision and when I took them off I barely noticed that my left ankle was sore, and had to take twelve steps or so before the kinks in each step disappeared. So I got the magic shoes and kept them until the spell was broken—thirty minutes later. My better judgment told me to take them back before I hurt myself. What was I thinking?
I’ll tell you what I was thinking. I was thinking that it would be nice to have long legs to match my long feet. I was thinking that I could instantly seem thinner and maybe even younger. There was a lot of thinking going on.
Mrs. Eugene McCarthy, politician’s wife, once said, “I am who I am, I look the way I look and I am my age.†To that, I must add, “and I am just as tall as I am, so get over it!†This is an example where the wish to be more, the fear of not being enough, and the hope of being perfect overshadowed the mastery of self acceptance.
Many of us ask these questions:
Do I have enough beauty?
Am I smart enough?
Do I have the right education?
The answer is, yes and no. No, if we look out into the world for someone to validate us. If we play the ever popular comparing game, we’ll always find someone who seems to have more beauty, is more credible, and does “it†better.
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Besides being fun, your shoe story is a good way to learn about yourself. After all, shoes get us where we want to go. What does your story tell you?