Double Personality {The Look}

After an hour of intense workout, with puffy and sweaty faces, we all gathered our gear,  swept our faces with towels, stashed away the steps and weights, exchanged smiles of relief to share the adrenaline and satisfaction of having wrapped up yet another intensive lesson. Goodness for the mind, goodness for the soul; both are highly needed at this time of reduced light and lower temperatures.

The workout participants are mostly familiar faces and I am used to seeing them choose mostly the same spot on the floor - habits die hard and we all look like pawns on the health chessboard. We are all used to seeing each others wearing sport gear and acting in a relaxed, open way. Smiles fly easily around and sometimes there is even the occasional handshake and joke while we lift our weights.

It was quite an eye opener when, for once, I lingered in the lobby after the course and, after a  little while, started seeing an army of former training participants come out of the locker rooms all dressed up in what looked like uniforms made for the best soldiers of our business world. They were barely recognizable.

It was more than just about fashion: their pace was quicker, purposeful, their stare much focused and static and their face lines harder. The Kafka-like metamorphosis was brought together once they wore back their office suits, high heals and fancy coats - all sending out the same message of uniformity and compliance with rules and expectations. Their ability to open up shut down. Back to the role play.

The whole scene made me think about our two-faced lives; to some extent, this is obviously necessary and even healthy I would say. But, the sudden, steep change and severe separation between the two was shocking and made me wonder: where do we draw the line? To what extent can we wear two different personalities without losing track of who we really are, what our values are? Can't one personality seep every now and then into the other to bring its personal touch and make ourselves unique? Because, well, in my book, that's where our worth lies.

What's your experience in the field? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this! 

Credits: Canva (edited by The Daydreamer)