The Fine Art Of Dignity And How To Lose It

Jennifer Connolly may have lost her dignity once…or twice…but she knows how to recover quickly! Read more from Jennifer on her blog, A Well Styled Life.

That time I crammed myself through the dog door, in the middle of the night, wearing soaking wet PJ’s… such a fond memory, and it got me thinking about dignity.

What is dignity?

• It usually comes with age, but there’s no guarantee.

• It’s intricately linked to one’s self-confidence and manners.

• You can fake this one till you make it…but it only feels good when authentic.

• It’s usually tested most vigorously during the impact of criticism.

• It looks like poise and acts like self-respect.

• It can’t be taken away from you but you can throw it away.

• Along with poise, it’s an integral component of being elegant.

• It can be cultivated, fostered and become a natural part of you.

 So how do dignified people behave?

1. They hold themselves accountable and take the moral high road.
2. They respect other’s right to their opinions.
3. They are polite and treat others with respect.
4. They’re grounded, centered and control their emotions.
5. They defend their position with assertiveness, without becoming aggressive.
6. They are humble, civil and good sports.

Has the word dignity crossed your radar screen lately?

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I try to live my life with as much grace and elegance as possible… but occasionally…it’s out of my hands.

Case in point… It was pouring cats and dogs 2 weeks ago. My husband was sound asleep, upstairs. While locking up downstairs, ( in my PJ’s, no slippers or robe), I heard a cat howling outside the front door of our courtyard. Curious, I left our house door open and slipped through the courtyard door to investigate. The wind slammed the outside door shut which automatically locked me out. IT WAS POURING! Such fun.

Luckily our garage has a key pad for access. By the time I got into the garage I was drenched and freezing. Sadly, the door from our garage to house was locked (I’m so efficient) with a double-key lock. You must have a key to unlock it from the inside and the outside. We installed it so burglars couldn’t reach through the dog door and unlock it. Brilliant move.

No doorbell in the garage, no key… I got down on my hands and knees, stuffed myself as far as possible through the dog door, and called for help . Then I yelled. Finally I started bellowing like a fish wife, until my husband woke up and came to rescue me.

I must have been a sight, jammed into that dog door, because he’s still laughing about it.

What does dignity mean for you?