As A Swing Dancer, one of my all time favorite swing tunes is: Accentuate the Positive by Johnny Mercer. The core lyric gave me pause to think about it in the context of The Lindy Charm School For Girls as it is so pertinent to our ethos and what we teach at our workshops and events.
It Goes:
Accentuate the positive,
Eliminate the negative,
Latch on to the affirmative,
Don’t mess with Mr. In-Between
These words have also been a constant in my life this past 3 years. I still hear my Mum singing this when I hear it today. As most of you know the past few years have been challenging and heart wrenching through the passing of Dad, Elisha and then Mum and even through my own journey of Cancer and its lingering effects today, I still hear these words and give thanks for what we have, what I have, and what we have had in our past, our present and still to come in our future. I guess, accentuating the positive might be like clutching at straws to some, eliminating the negative might be avoidance to others and latching on to the affirmative may be the power of positive thinking to the enlightened, but I like most: the, “don’t mess with in between” …. as that can be the opening of a scary can of worms.. and lets face it.. not always necessary.. (Sorry to the counselors out there that like to delve deep). Where I sit now, it’s just best to accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative and latch on to the affirmative… happier and safer place to be… for me anyhow….
But…., how does this all relate to The Lindy Charm School for Girls empowerment of women…?? Well John Robert Powers, Says:
As you eliminate the negative aspects of your appearance and your personality, you must continue to accentuate the positive. Not every model possesses overall perfection, but each successful one capitalizes on what she does have and makes it the very best of its kind. ~John Robert Powers, Secrets of Poise, Personality, and Model Beauty
So for us that means: focus on our positive traits — no matter what what our negative traits may be. He points out that everyone is a work in progress and if we examined the women we find to be absolutely wonderful and beautiful, we will will find all sorts of “issues” with them. But we don’t usually notice those issues because she has created an Aura of Confidence about her.
Maybe we forget sometimes about our own Aura of Magnificence. Perhaps it is because we are so overwhelmed by the many hats that we wear that we are too exhausted to feel Amazing. Or, maybe we think no one will notice if we don’t make that supreme effort to look magnificent. But someone very important does notice: ourselves…. When we make the effort, we not only gain more confidence, we also gain more positive energy. And, when we possess and radiate positive energy, relationships become richer and we are feel stronger and more empowered to deal with the day and all that it brings..
Being this fabulously well put together and stylishly empowered woman doesn’t have to be overwhelming. It starts with making sure you are perfectly groomed (or at least on the way to being). It means finding a signature style — but not getting into a fashion rut– that guides you to the most flattering looks regardless of the whims of fashion. And don’t forget that our inner beauty is the foundation of outer beauty.
If we focus on accentuating the positive, others will focus on our positive attributes as well and then, before we know it, we have eliminated the negative and latched on to the Affirmative!
Stylishly yours,
Miss Chrissy xx
