The package

Lydia walked into the boutique smiling to herself. It was evident that she was in a good mood that fine afternoon. Why wouldn't she be? She was on her way back from work when she got a text message from her husband. Their daughter's results for the session was out and she was at the top of her class. At that moment, she was a really proud mother considering how her daughter had struggled with her academics the past term. As a reward, she had stopped by the boutique to get her a new dress. She remembered how much her daughter wanted one. It wasn't that she had a lot of money but she really wanted to do this for her baby girl.

She had barely taken seven steps into the boutique when an attendant walked up to her.

"Good afternoon ma, how can we help you? What might you need?" She asked.

Lydia took a glance at her and liked her immediately.

"I'm hoping to find a beautiful dress for my daughter" she replied.

She was led to the section that housed the clothes. The first dress she saw, she dismissed it immediately. It looked like it had been sitting in the boutique for a long time and no one had come to buy it.

The second dress she came across was indeed new but it wasn't what she wanted either. The design didn't sit well with her. It was like the designer was confused and tried to add so many patterns to the dress at once.

Most of the clothes she saw didn't quite suit her taste. They were either too bland or there was too much going on with the design that she didn't understand.

She was about to turn and leave when a very beautiful red sequin dress caught her attention. This would be perfect for my baby! She exclaimed. It was exactly what she wanted. Everything about the dress screamed perfect. She was sure her daughter would love this dress.

" This is the one I want." She said.

The attendant smiled at her and said

" You do have eyes for the best".

If you've read this story, this brings me to my point today - Packaging.

What then is packaging?

In simple terms, it is the manner in which a person or product is promoted.

It's like when you see a plate of food that is so inviting and looks delicious. You expect it to taste the same way it looks. You don't expect anything less.

Just like Lydia in our story, you want to make a purchase of a good or a service, you'll certainly go for the best. You won't look twice at the ones that don't look appealing. We go for the packaging.

Sometimes, when we finally make the purchase, we realize the package in itself isn't what we expected but we were drawn to it by the packaging, by how well that product was presented.

It's the same for us humans. If you want to be noticed. If you want to be taken seriously, you have to know how to organise yourself. The way you present yourself to people plays a big role in you going far in life.

Self packaging involves the way you appear as a means of promoting yourself in the midst of other people. It is more than your outfit or dressing. It is in summary, everything about you. The way you interact with people, to how much self confidence you have. The fact that you always keep a smile on and have your head held high.

• Try to always look presentable for a meeting or an event. Remember, we're all like Lydia, we're first moved by what we see.

• If you're with someone, try to be attentive to them. Put your phone away and give them the attention. It speaks a lot about you. It shows you're interested and will leave a positive impression.

• Don't forget to smile and be confident in yourself. If you appear unsure of yourself, you might not be taken seriously.

The issue is that sometimes people that we are better than at something get the position we wanted. Why? It's how they presented themselves or how they were seen. You might have everything needed to make it in life but if you don't know how to present yourself to others, you won't be able to promote yourself and everything you worked for might appear to be a waste.

Some of us had given a bad first impression about ourselves to people. If you're opportune to get other chance, let's do better.

So, let's ask ourselves this question

How do we want to be seen?

What tips do you have that helps you progress in the midst of other people? I'm interested in hearing them in the comments. We're all here to learn. Thank you❤️