You know him, the guy in the supermarket whose wardrobe is vintage 1985. Then there's the gal in the library who has the same hairdo as when she was 30 years younger. He and she are pretty common these days and the older you get, the easier it is to be stuck in a rut.

Rutness plagues a lot of us if we're honest about it. Life moves quickly, demands pile up and "small" things like your personal style get lost in the sauce. You may even hear people defend their blandness with something like, "I'm so focused on my career," or "My kids are way more important than a silly wardrobe!"

True and true.

Still, blandness isn't helpful when it comes to career promotion. Remember the 20/20 episode when they compared two kinds of people as they entered a store? The ones with style consistently got better service. Some are wondering if 2013 will finally be the year of great customer service. I'm not sure but I know that blandness can be countered with three practical action stesps:

Get perspective. If you're not sure if you have become bland, ask someone you trust. A real friend will be honest with you.
People watch. Go to a movie. Grab a bite to eat. Head downtown and just watch how people dress. If you see something you like, replicate it. You have permission to upgrade your broken eyeglasses. Your haircut can be changed. Your teeth can be whitened.
Give yourself permission to live younger. Who cares if you dress like someone ten years younger? Whose business is it if you do activities that supposedly "younger" people do? Give yourself the green light to do things that are meaningful to you.

Blandness doesn't have to get the best of you as you get older. I recently got a new pair of glasses. When the lady asked me what kind I was looking for, I simply told her that I didn't want to look like an old man. The result is a slightly modern frame that actually looks nice. Had I not told the lady what I was looking for, I would have gotten the exact same pair as I did two years ago- i.e. bland.

What are you waiting for? Push back on bland and go for your own style. After all, Psalm 139 says the following:

"For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made." (Psalm 139: 13, 14)

What can you do to improve your personal style and push back on blandness?

Photo courtesy of MA