I am super excited to introduce Mindy Lockard, the Gracious Girl and a new weekly column “Gracious Me” – join me to welcome Mindy!
What is Gracious Me?
I’m beyond excited for the opportunity to write for Skimbaco Lifestyle under the
Gracious Me column. As an etiquette consultant, my speaking and writing so often include the tools we use to engage with others, such as which fork to use and and how to stock-up on conversation starters. Don’t get me wrong; I believe the rules of etiquette are important in helping us conduct ourselves with confidence.
However, in my 37-year journey to gracious living – eight of which I’ve spent researching, speaking and writing about etiquette – there is one aspect that is vital to making a manners less about the rules and more about a gracious lifestyle.
What is it? Well, it’s rather simple.
I’ve learned that before we can be kind to others, before we can listen to what they have to say, before we can invest in them and build a relationship…we have to like ourselves. Okay, love ourselves. Not love in an arrogant way, but in a confident way. (I don’t think arrogance is self-respect…actually an overreaction to self-doubt and lack of confidence.) Confidence is when we like ourselves and don’t feel like we need the approval of others for our value. Is approval important? Yes. Does it define our self worth? Nope.
So here on Gracious Me, we will explore what it means to be gracious to ourselves – from sneaking way for some “me” time to the importance of health and wellness. We will leave no gracious stone unturned. It is my hope that along this journey, we will discover bits and pieces of self-growth and aspects of ourselves that we never knew we loved. What I’m most excited about is that Gracious Me can be a place where can come together to chat about what works and what doesn’t. A place where we will call on friends and experts to share their journey to Gracious Living. I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I am and honored that the inspiring Ms. Katja has invited me to set up a weekly Gracious Living pop-up shop! I hope you’ll pop by every Thursday to see what gracious goodness we are chatting about!
Just off the top of your head, what Gracious Me topics would you like explore?
