Becoming An Outstanding Person | Cleanliness – Week 10 of 12 |

This article is part of the How To Become An Outstanding Person In Twelve Weeks series. I strongly urge that you read the first article in order to get a sense of what is going on here.

Cleanliness (Week 10 of 12)

Cleanliness. Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, clothes, or habitation. For most people, this virtue is kind of a no-brainer. In today’s society, it’s pretty much mandated that people be clean, well-groomed and have a good odor. However, there are a few other things that occur when a person practices good hygiene.

Clarity. When my home is clean I feel a reduction in mental load. When there are clothes and other items scattered about, I have to keep track of their new positions. I’ll know exactly where each piece of clothes is laying in which corner. This is good because I can find it quickly, but it’s bad because it’s taking up room in my brain. Not only am I remembering where it should be, but where it is as well. When I combine, where it should be with where it is, in one spot, I feel freed up.

Confidence. When I’m clean and well groomed, I feel a sense of confidence that I’m sure people around me can feel. I have a tendency to be more social, because I feel good about myself. This leads to me talking to more people, and being friendlier. I wouldn’t be so vein as to say I have an aura, but I can say that I FEEL like I have an aura. The aura says, I am fun and friendly, come meet me!

On guard. You never know when someone can drop by your house, or if you’ll have to give someone a ride somewhere. You can avoid embarrassment of an untidy atmosphere by keeping it constantly clean. I’m not saying to have an obsessive compulsive disorder about it, but generally put things back after you use them.

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Posted by Alex Shalman in Personal Development | May 3, 2007 | Digg | Del.icio.us | Stumble | Print | 11 comments

  1. AnnaNo Gravatar
    AnnaNo Gravatar said on May 4th, 2007 at 5:44 pm

    i totally agree on this. This is gonna sound silly but whenever i have a really great hair day i usually have a great day! I think it’s because i feel more confident and project that out.
    In regards to keeping the house clean and w/o clutter, there’s a lot of theory about that in Fung Shui.. you would probably find it interesting.

  2. Alex ShalmanNo Gravatar
    Alex ShalmanNo Gravatar said on May 5th, 2007 at 3:12 am

    I’ve heard that Fung Shui gives energy to a room. I’ve never really pursued this any further. I guess before I decorate my next place I’ll get some books on Fung Shui and see where I can go with it.

    Great hair day = great day…. agreed ;)

  3. Dave OlsonNo Gravatar said on May 5th, 2007 at 9:37 pm

    Excellent. Keeping stuff neat and tidy will help your productivity as well. Mark Shead at productivity101.com posted a parable about it a while ago.




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