I was flipping through the channels one evening (let me just say, before I continue, that it is a rare occurrence that I have the DSTV remote in my hand), stumbled across the program, Naked and Afraid on one of the channels. Don’t ask me which one, because when it comes to TV my attention span is shorter than that of Dory’s.
Intrigued, I started watching. It’s like Survivor, except you are in teams of two, male and female, in the middle of nowhere. Usually somewhere very cold, or Amazon-like, without food, and wait for it, you are naked. Now, I’m not sure if they are afraid because they have to survive the elements and no food, or if they are afraid because of the nakedness.
This got me thinking, as Spring is nearing, and my body has equipped itself to withstand the elements of the harsh cold South African winter, I too am afraid to be naked at this stage.
What doesn’t seize to amaze me, however, is that I am on the same hamster wheel of self-destruction, year in and year out. Every year, I swear to train more during winter and indulge less. And then life happens, and with life, I mean the freezing cold, and in my case this year a case of swine flu, which literally made me wish that I was a piece of back bacon instead of a human being.
In saying this, I am fairly comfortable with my nakedness, most days. And I decided to turn to my friends to ask them for their advice on how to become more comfortable in your own skin. What I expected were pearls of wisdom. What I got; laughter for days. I will share just a few of the comments with you.
The conversation went as follow:
Me: How do you become not naked and afraid…?
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Don’t look down. (Screeching laughter)
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Spraytan, brown fat is better than white fat.
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Moisturise. That pasty, dry flaky skin is nasty.
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Wear a polo neck, anything below the neckline is scary.
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Get dressed in the shower.
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Buy those warped mirrors, Makro sells them. (Snorts coffee through nose)
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Be married or single, but don’t date, that way you don’t have to get naked. (BWAHAHAHA)
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Xanax, lot’s of it.
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Tell yourself in the mirror you love your body, soon it will set in.
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Beauty comes from within not only skin deep.
After all these comments we all had a good laugh, but then we chatted seriously and we realised why they say it takes 21 days to form a habit and wondered whether this is true for a bad one too? I feel I form the bad ones overnight and it takes me a lifetime to break them.
Do you feel comfortable in your own skin? Do you have bad habits that you can’t break? Let me know in the comments below
