The Grasshopper stepped out of his metro-sexual guise and delivered this: “You know you’ve turned the corner when it’s more about comfort than it is about style.”

Turning the corner in this context is what I refer to as “subtraction” or “the trip home.”

Subtracting is taking away the things you thought you needed but didn’t. It generally happens in the second half of life. Subtraction leads to a comfort level within your skin of being who you are without makeup.

This isn’t about giving up worldly goods or wearing sack cloth; it’s finding out that your definition of yourself needs some undressing.

Did you ever noticed that it’s hard to live up to how you define yourself? That’s because you’ve added so much to that persona that it weighs you down – forever trying to hold up the image you are desperately attempting to portray.

Turning the corner is recognizing the comfort below the image. The more you notice, the more comfortable you get. The more comfortable you get leads to the shedding of that image, and there you are in your metaphorical jeans and tee shirt.

Give some reflection on how you think you need to appear and then notice how uncomfortable that is. Then start subtracting piece by piece and begin to experience your peace.

The mission is simple: Make comfort your new style.

All the best,

John