It's Opposite Day!

Sometimes it takes a silly kids game to break you out of autopilot.

Something huge happened to me this week. I dyed my hair dark brown!!! After literally 16 years of being a bleach blonde, this change feels like a bigger deal than it probably is. For years, blonde was my comfort zone. Blonde was what I had always done. Blonde was my default setting. Surprisingly boring for me, right?

I liked blonde because it gave me this sharp contrast paired with my black glasses. And so much of my creative inspiration involves contrast so I really felt seen by myself when I had it! But then, as I started wearing contacts more and more, I realized I didn’t need my hair to do the heavy contrast work anymore. I could find contrast somewhere else! I didn’t need blonde in the same way I used to. And yet, I kept dyeing it out of habit. Every eight weeks, like clockwork, I’d pay $300 to retouch roots no one cared about but me.

Honestly? I didn’t even love doing it. It started to feel more like a vicious cycle than a choice. The fresh, confident feeling after a root touch up? Loved that! But two weeks later, as the roots peeked through, that feeling would start to fade. By the sixth week, I’d be counting down the days until my next appointment. Blonde wasn’t a choice anymore, it was autopilot. And this year, I realized I didn’t want to live on autopilot gosh dang it!!!

I knew dyeing my hair brown would draw attention, and truthfully, that scared me. I’m not someone who loves being reminded that I’m being perceived unless I opt into it, OKAY?! But I didn’t want the fear of other people noticing the change to stop me from doing something I wanted. I just needed to reframe it and make it fun!

Enter OPPOSITE! DAY!

If I was going to do this, I decided it would be a game. Opposite day brought me right back to being a kid, running around and saying the opposite of what I meant in a totally unserious way. Winking, grinning, shouting, "It’s opposite day!" And truly, what could be more opposite than going from bleach blonde to almost-black hair?

After the dye job, the experiment snowballed (surprised? I love an experiment!). When the barista at my coffee shop said, "Whoa, look at that hair!" I panicked. But then I remembered my opposite day game and leaned in. "Thanks!" I said. "I decided it was opposite day, so I did the opposite. Should I keep going?" The barista, fully in my game now, suggested I order something I’d never pick as blonde Meg. I ended up with an iced black tea with lemon, which I hadn’t touched since I was a kid sippin' on my grandma’s Olive Garden iced tea.

And you know what? I liked it!! It wasn’t what I would ever order, but it turned out to be light, refreshing, and exactly what my day needed. That little moment fueled me to keep the experiment going. Opposite Meg tried new routes to the studio, avoided autopilot at the gym, and even struck up conversations with people I wouldn’t normally approach. I made THREE new friends, discovered a lovely little shop (got a candle!), and learned that shaking things up is wildly rewarding!

When we’re confident in who we are at our core, there’s so much freedom in experimenting with the opposite. Blonde Meg didn’t disappear because I dyed my hair brown, and changing how I approach coffee orders or gym workouts doesn’t erase who I’ve always been. But it does pull me out of autopilot and remind me that "why not?" is a valid answer to so many questions.

Opposite Meg is sticking around for a little while. If you comment on my hair, I’ll probably tell you, "It’s opposite day!" And maybe I’ll order another iced tea or take another unplanned stroll down an brand new street.

What about you? What would your opposite day look like? You don’t have to dye your hair, but maybe try eating the one thing you think you won’t like or swapping your usual podcast for something unexpected. Breaking out of the "because I always do" loop is such a simple change, but it’s full of so much potential.

Trust me, there’s a lot to discover on the other side of "because I always do."

This week, do the opposite!

Why not! If a choice isn't causing harm to yourself or others, choose chaos and do the opposite. Low stakes (like a beverage order) all the way to medium stakes (like a hair color change) decisions are fun to play with and it's really not that serious. Giggle and laugh your way through opposite day and maybe you'll discover you actually sometimes like the opposite of your usual autopilot!

What the heck I’m up to!

• This week I’m jet setting to sunny Oklahoma to give my Power of Play talk + Full Time You workshop at MARCON. I love running this talk + workshop combo at conferences and corporate offices, just holler if you want me!

• Speaking of Full Time You! My students are absolutely SLAYING during the Full Time You 2025 program. This week they started understanding their risk & stability needs so they can craft a career that helps them feel stable and secure (or risky and unstable if they prefer). Enrollment is still open, you can join now and go at your own pace!

• I just got tickets to see one of my favorite comedians, Richard Perez, here in NYC. He’s coming to NYC, Chicago, and LA and is very funny. You should go!