How To Be a Mystery Shopper (in Your Own Life)

Daisy Swan – Career Coach
Guest Contributor for My L.A. Lifestyle

Do you love to look around to find the unexpected? Love to scour racks of clothes, or shelves of shoes, for that perfect surprise item that pulls an outfit (or maybe starts one) together…? Not everyone loves this kind of thing. Some people want the goods all laid out, put together, done. But some of us like the thrill of the adventure.

We are mystery shoppers.

Some people are actually employed as mystery shoppers…people who are planted in stores to surreptitiously shop the aisles, watching how salespeople manage patrons and merchandise. I’m not talking about that kind of mystery shopper.

I’m talking about being a mystery shopper in your own life.

Tuning into our own lives like a mystery shopper, means tuning into what’s really happening with us, and the world around us. We get to tune into the mystery of what’s coming next in our work, our relationships, our health and wellness. When we look at ourselves and our lives as little mysteries, something kind of magical happens. We can tune into the little nuggets, morsels, particles of our lives and see something interesting on a moment-to-moment basis.

What’s going on with that bowl in the sink? What is this blouse I’m wearing, imbued with…? Where are these shoes taking me? Or am I taking them somewhere new, today? What clues or dots can I connect today as I head to work, or later as I scour the aisles of my local grocery store? Who might be just around the corner as I walk my dog? What can this weekly meeting open up for me, in my career? What do I want to find? What did I not know this morning, that I know as I tuck myself into bed? What will tomorrow be known for…?

How to be a mystery shopper? Shop your life for the mystery of who you are, and what you’re intrigued with…shop your heart for what makes it beat a little faster. Shop the faces of others around you to learn what’s connecting you to everyone else.

Pay-off? Priceless.

Read this original article as it appeared on My L.A. Lifestyle.