SagaciDiva
Since Adam and Eve first invented fig leaf fashion, clothes have had a dual purpose: To protect your body from the elements and to express–or conceal–who and what you are. Yet, as easy as it is to recognize when your body is exposed, chances are you’re blind to how vulnerable and exposed your mind is as you confront Life’s challenges. Where you leave yourself exposed is in how you dress your interior self, or more to the point, how you don’t. Not properly dressing your brain leads to a serious disconnect between who you are and the choices you make, leaving you unhappy, frustrated, confused, depressed, stuck in a rut, and unable to achieve the happiness and success you deserve.
Thinking naked is making decisions and choices without properly outfitting your mind with what you need to know and understand about yourself to make good judgments. Just as everything you wear reveals certain things about you, every life decision you make is a reflection of who you are and what is or is not in your mental closet. If there are gaps in your sense of identity, your beliefs are fuzzy or your ethics undefined, the world is overflowing with friends, family, co-workers, ads, news shows, talks shows, politicians, television, books, movies, and blogs
, all ready to fill in those gaps, clarify those beliefs, and define those ethics for you. Those outside influences fill your mental wardrobe without you even realizing it. You end up dressing your mind in their style, their design, not your own. Therein lies the source of your problems.
Don’t Think Naked is a philosophy designed to 1. Help you examine what you have in your mental closet, 2. Make sure that what’s in there is authentic to who you are, and 3. Guide you on how to “dress your brain” in a way that is the best fit for your happiness and success.
Man or woman, every day you reach into your closet, pull open your dresser drawer, or even pick from a pile on the floor, to find clothes to wear that reflect who you are and what your goals are at that moment. Before you set out for work, the gym, a day of chores, meet up with friends for dinner, rendezvous with a lover, go hunting, compete in a triathlon, or even prep for bed, you utilize valuable innate critical thinking skills to prepare you physically. You sift through your wardrobe, assessing what you’ve got, narrowing down your options, comparing this piece with that, eliminating what doesn’t work from what does, until you put together the outfit that best suits your needs. You can be self-conscious and meticulous about it, or simply throw on whatever’s handy that doesn’t make you flinch after a quick whiff of the armpits. Yet, whatever you put on your body, simple or sophisticated, casual or complicated, if you’re like most folks, you will be mentally naked.
To dress your brain before tackling any important decisions, you simply need to answer the same questions that speed through your mind when you dress your body: Exactly what is your goal? What do you have stored in your mental closet? What facts? What values? What experiences, emotions, beliefs, and perceptions about yourself and the world? Where do these things come from? What are they made of? Are they your own, chosen by you, or were they imposed on you by others? Does it matter what others think of them? Are they best suited for your needs? Will they stand up to the task? Is what you have there flattering to you? Does it fit you properly? Does it protect you, support you, enhance you, express the inner person you strive to be? Are there things missing or that need updating? More importantly, do you know how to coordinate the information and skills contained in your mental closet to effectively clothe yourself in the right mindset for using good judgment and improving your chances of success? The answers are the intellectual garments that dress your mind.
Ultimately, by making sure you don’t think naked when facing difficult dilemmas and important decisions
, you are making sure that the choices you make are a true reflection of who you are and what is best for you. Come along each week as we explore the many ways you can empower your life and achieve greater success by tapping into straight-forward powers of critical thinking you already use everyday.
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