Uniforms.
The word may conjure up in your mind images of firefighters, police officers, EMTs, military members, Boy Scouts, UPS drivers, NBA players, Hooter’s waitresses, or even prison inmates. Truth is, we all wear uniforms. Some are more obvious, like the ones listed above. Some are less obvious, like the politician uniform, or the hipster uniform. For politicians, it’s a solid black or navy suit, with a solid white or light blue shirt and a solid red or blue tie. For hipsters, it’s skinny jeans, a flannel shirt a size too small, and a cardigan.
Sometimes, the differences between uniforms can seem to be pretty subtle. For example, in this photo, one can clearly see the the “dress blue” uniform of each of the five branches of the US military. To someone familiar with these uniforms, it is easy to identify which branch a serviceman belongs to just by looking at his cover, without even seeing the differences in the rest of the uniform. However, some people may not be able to correctly identify all five uniforms even when the entire uniform is visible.
What uniform do you wear? I’m not talking about a uniform that you wear for work, but the uniform that you wear every day. When people see you, they form opinions about you based on what you are wearing, just as surely as if you were wearing a recognizable uniform. The question is, what does that uniform say? Do you wear the uniform of a well-dressed person? A redneck? A frumpy Wal-Mart person? When you are wearing the uniform of an organization, your appearance reflects on that organization, but when you wear what you choose, your “uniform” reflects on you.
What image do you want to project? Do you have pride in your “uniform?” If not, maybe it’s time to make a change.