WHY YOU NEED TO READ INSIDE—OUT

Two worlds—one world inside, the other world outside. The inside world is the world of being— person, spirit, self, the other the world of things—doing, using, possessing, having. Inside is the world of mind, imagination, and communication. Outside is the world of objectives, activity, and people. Because everything human functions in an inside–out way and because everything socio-cultural is outside–in, we all experience a built-in tension between these two worlds. If your socio-cultural is too dominant, then your inside life suffers. It is actually diminished. You then become to some extent—domesticated. That’s not good! If the inside–out is too dominant, then your social and relational life could become diminished to your detriment.

Now here’s the thing—it is the inside–out orientation that is the secret for becoming fully alive/ fully human. It is the secret for stepping up as the CEO of your own life. It is the secret of taking charge of yourself—your thinking, feeling, speaking, and acting. Yet learning the inside–out life is a challenge in today’s outside–in culture.

All of the very best of living humanly is uniquely inside–out. Thinking is inside–out, learning is inside–out. So also are all of the highly desired experiences of—love, joy, serenity, understanding, productivity, communication, persuasion, well-being, humor, resilience, etc. While all of these, and many more, operate from the inside to the outside, society is structured outside–in. We are also trained from childhood for the opposite, for outside–in living, yet outside–in reduces things to living like animals in a deterministic stimulus–response world. And that undermines the human way of life.

The solution is to get to your center, to what Maslow called the being life, and to live inside–out. It is the foundation for personal empowerment, proactivity, and productivity. It is the secret to the joy of flow and the meaningfulness of everyday life. With the inside–out orientation, you have an inner aliveness and vitality that enables you to take charge of your life, an inner gyroscope for stability and mindfulness. This orientation is a rich life since you live out of your own inner abundance.

How do you learn to live inside—out in a healthy and productive way? How does a person make the shift from outside—in to inside—out? In the book, Inside—Out: Empowered from Within you can learn, step by step, how to make the transition.

The Preface

Your life is inside–out. It may not seem that way. You may think and feel that your life is the result of a thousand outside influences and factors and that you don’t have much control over it. But that’s a lie. It is not only a lie, it is a dark deception that presents a destructive hallucination that will do you great harm if you don’t turn it around.

Life as outside–in makes a lot of sense given that you were born without a developed inside. While you were not a blank slate, you did have all sorts of predispositions, talents, and possibilities clamoring within—you were also without any information about how to live. You were deprived of any skills to do anything. Then the adventure of life began—you started to think, to experience, and to learn. Today your life is a result of what you thought, experienced, and learned.

Do you live inside–out? Have you reversed the original outside–in orientation and pattern of childhood? Have you become the author of your life so that you “write the script?” Or, do you live as the victim of your circumstances? These are the questions I address in this book.

What you will discover in Inside–Out will richly empower you to live your life on your terms. Inside–Out will hold up a mirror to give you a view of how you are currently living your life. You could be living it inside–out from your own meanings, values, visions, and passions. Or you could be living outside–in. If outside–in then you are living a life that has been given you—by family, school, religion, culture, etc. If so, to that extent, it is not truly yours, not genuinely authentic.

Because culture is an outside–in phenomenon, we all begin life in the outside–in mode (chapter 6). To become fully alive / fully human this has to change. To live your highest meanings with integrity and passion, you have to shift to the inside–out mode. When you do, you move from merely “having” to being, and you then live with an energizing vitality and zest toward becoming —becoming your best self. As your motivation shifts from extrinsic to intrinsic, you experience a never-ending rejuvenating motivation.

I’ve written Inside–out to serve as a blueprint for building a self-actualizing life-style, one in which you become more authentic, more integrated, and more whole. The design is that as you read through the chapters, you will become much more aware of the Inside–Out Principle. When you can do that, you will be able to catch yourself—when you’re living inside–out and when you are living outside–in. To catch those moments then propels you to a critical choice point:

What shall I do? What is best for me, and for those I care about, in this moment?

Living inside–out empowers you to be the author of your life, the architect of your future, and the spiritual core of your self. It vanishes all of the victimhood games and emotions and enables you to step up to being and becoming the best version of you.

With the inside–out orientation, you have an inner aliveness and vitality that enables you to take charge of your life, an inner gyroscope for stability and mindfulness. This orientation is a rich life since you live out of your own inner abundance. Without this orientation, you live in a world of human domestication—being domesticated by the outside world of culture and events.

When you live inside–out, you are more alive and more awake to yourself, to others, to the world, and to the possibilities before you. You can no longer be a victim of others or a zombie of despair. And when you set up the continuous loop of inside—out—inside, all of life becomes a marvelous adventure of discovery.

Inside–Out: Empowered from Within is on the Shop as a PDF file. https://www.neurosemantics.com/shop/page/4/