A lot of people these days identify themselves as students of Personal Development.  They say they have been studying the works of different authors and trainers for years, but they are not experiencing the results they expect.  With so many students of personal development, why are there so many people who are still not having results in their lives?

The answer is in the way “study” is being defined.  Back in our school days we all found out that simply reading or listening to lectures did not mean we learned.  I knew that I could catch up on reading the night before an exam and squeak by.  However a week later I wouldn’t remember a thing about the topic I had “studied”.

When I studied algebra I found it very hard.  I could memorize what I was supposed to do and how to answer certain problems and solve different equations, but it came hard to me.  At the time I was very focused on getting into certain colleges, and to be honest, I wanted to do well for the sake of having a good mark on my report card.  So I did the homework and the practice problems, I listened to the lectures, I asked questions.  I did fine and could get through ok.  But one day it clicked,I understood how it all came together.  I’d done enough exercises, enough equations and quizzes.  I woke up and knew algebra. I know longer had to work hard at it, and even when I learned new concepts they just clicked into the existing framework and seemed easy to me.

The majority of “students” of personal development do not actually study.  They buy the books and go to the seminars.  They take notes they will never refer to again. They read the book once and feel good for several days and then slip back into old habits.

The people who are really getting results in their lives are the ones who are actually studying. They are doing the exercises, and not just once but daily.  They assimilate these ways of doing things into their life before they move on to the next thing.  It has to become a way of being, not just a pick me up when they feel down.  The only way to do this is through practice, and through understanding that you start where you start.  The results you seek will not come overnight, but slowly (or quickly if you’re really dedicated) as you begin to make real permanent shifts in your thinking.

The great thing is, when you do it this way you see the change in you. You are in charge of your own results and each day you can see the progress you are making in your thinking by how you feel.  If you are simply reading a book or attending a seminar to uplift you for a short time you constantly need someone else to inspire you or make you feel better.  So you always need the next thing or the next guru.  The truth is any personal development training that resonates and feels right to you will work for you. The important factor is that you are doing the work.

So how do you change this habit?  How do you break the cycle of needing the next personal development fix and really become a student?

The answer is to find or create a system. Either find a good course or curriculum and actually do the exercises.  Write things down!  Daily.  I use a journal, not just to write my own musings on my own development but to complete and keep track of the exercises I am doing.  Find a system to track the exercises so they don’t get forgotten.  You can do this by making a list of exercises at the front of your journal and referring back to them every night to make sure you are doing each of them on a consistent basis.

I found it hard to do on my own as I was so scattered in my reading.  I had dogeared books everywhere with exercises I meant to come back to.  I only really began to achieve consistency when I got a course that laid it all out for me…and, get this, I treated it like a COURSE. Whatever source of education you pick the most important thing is how you view it, how you use it.

Remember when you did coursework because a teacher or parent told you it was important for your future?  When you learned algebra because you thought it would matter some day?:)

It’s time to be your own teacher and set your own expectations for yourself.  This is the most important schooling you will have in your life because it will put you on the path to having whatever you want. It IS your future. So, go back to school…

Do your homework!

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