Signing up for an online program or buying a new self-help book feels like we are doing something to improve our lives.
The harsh reality is that the personal growth industry is a multi-billion dollar industry every year. There is more and more information available online, in courses, seminars, workshops and inspirational videos than ever before. Despite this, there are more and more people than ever before who are depressed, miserable, feeling stuck, and procrastinating on their goals and dreams.
If the personal development industry actually worked the way it proclaims to, we should all be happy, thin, healthy, full of energy, at the top of our game doing what we love, wealthy, and in passionate relationships with our soul-mates who adore us!
After all, the “answers” are readily available to everyone.
What’s not working?
What’s not working is the misconception that tips and tricks, hacks, and blogs with 25 ways to find happiness are never going to create lasting change for anyone.
Look at your life.
Your current life is a result of what you’ve been doing for the past few years.
Darren Hardy says,
“Your waistline, your bank account, and the quality of your relationships are all a cumulative result of the choices you have made in your life up to this point.”
Yikes!
Pick any area of your life and have an honest look at it. Get a pen and paper and work through these questions being as detailed as possible. Awareness and being honest with yourself are the first steps toward lasting transformation.
(Just reading this article is not going to change anything. Thinking about what you are reading is not enough either! You need to get a pen, put the pointy part onto the paper, and write. This is the best way to clear your thoughts and gain clarity on where you currently are in your life right now and what you can do to change things.)
Write your answers to these questions:
- Is your waistline the way you’d like it to be?
- What have you been doing that has given you the results you see in your health?
- What have you been avoiding that has contributed to those results?
- Are you committed to changing these?
- What have you been doing (or been avoiding) that has contributed to the current state of your bank account?
- What are you committed to doing to bring this more in alignment with what you desire regarding your work / career / finances?
Now answer those questions again regarding your relationships.
- What have you been doing that has given you the results you are seeing in your relationships? You cannot change anyone but yourself, so just take ownership of what you have been doing.
- What have you been avoiding that has gotten you your current relationship results?
- And what are you committed to changing starting right now?
“As humans we’re reading books every day to try to figure out how to be someone else. What we don’t do is go inside, turn ourselves inside out, and read our own story. You have to look inside to find out what you really want.” ~ David Goggins
If you are addicted to personal growth and find yourself signing up for the next shiny object but not taking action to actually do the things that will get you the results that you’d like to have in your life, then today is your day to decide to change all of that!
Study the people who are successful in each of those areas of your life that you’d like to work on: your health, work/finances, relationships. What got them the success that you see is not that they keep consuming information. They don’t spend their time looking for quick fixes, tips or tricks, hacks or secrets that other people are posting in listicles online.
They take action!
Start from where you are right now.
No beating yourself up. You are where you are. Just accept that and commit to your personal growth.
Maya Angeleau said,
“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”
Tony Robbins says
“Success Leaves Clues!”
Realize that the only thing that will get you the lasting transformations in your life is to take action! You need to do the things that successful people have done and continue to do.
Yes, that will involve work, self-discipline and getting outside of your Familiar Zone. Start with a very small step. Get the momentum going. Just keep taking daily action, whether you feel like it or not! And celebrate all progress, no matter how small!
Waiting until you feel ready is a recipe for continued procrastination.
It’s GO time! Right now!
If you need help to start moving, make some shifts, and take daily action, then the best thing you can do is to hire a Coach to support you. You do not need to try to figure things out on your own.
Einstein said,
“No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.”
You have your beliefs and habits, your own perspectives, your blocks and self-doubt. When you consume information, you are just filtering it through your own cloudy level of consciousness.
This is why the most successful people in the world hire a coach to help them see where they are stuck and what to do to move forward.
Most people learn something new on their own, try it for a short period of time and end up going back to their old habits. Life ends up being “more of the same”.
They read over their goals from previous years and nothing much has changed. They have big dreams but they are just not taking action on any of them.
We like to laugh at the Einstein quote about “doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.” It’s the definition of insanity!
But deep down, this is exactly what most people are doing with their lives.
How do you stop the insanity?
Stop spending so much time consuming information.
Start taking ACTION.
And if you find that you aren’t consistently taking action on your own, then you need to hire a Coach to support you on your personal growth journey!
It’s taken you many many years to solidify the limiting beliefs and blocks and disempowering thoughts that are currently keeping you stuck.
There is no tip or trick or hack that you could ever find online that will be the quick fix that will solve all your problems. Once you realize that there are no quick fixes, you can resolve yourself to the fact that you just need to do the work.
“Most people die at age 25 and aren’t buried until they’re 75” ~ Benjamin Franklin
To live an extraordinary life of fun, freedom and fulfillment, you don’t need more information.
You need transformation! That only comes by taking ACTION (this includes getting help if you need it).
Sara Blakely, billionaire, founder of Spanx, says, “The difference between those who achieve their dreams and those who don’t is simple…. It’s about action.” “I started doing and one day became day one, 20 years ago. And that’s what made all the difference.”
“So what’s it gonna be? Day one? Or one day?”
