You eventually reach a point in your life when you’re ready for change and a whole bunch of information that’ll help you unleash your personal development potential. Until then, something can stare at you right under your nose but you don’t see it.
For instance, when you look at a painting, you can’t really appreciate it when it’s just an inch away from your face. But if you look at it from a little further back, you’ll have a clearer vision of the whole artwork.
Most people tend to only think of seeking advice for self help and personal growth when everything gets worse. For example, take the following scenario:
Try placing your finger in a pot of scalding hot water. What happens? You take it out pretty quick. Why? Because you can’t tolerate sudden change in your environment, the water’s hot temperature.
But try placing your finger in luck warm water and then turn the gas stove on. Wait until the water reaches a certain temperature, then you’ll start thinking “Ooh… it’s a bit warm in there”. Then you’ll finally remove your finger.
Generally speaking, people usually behave more like the second example above. We learn our lessons when we experience actual pain. Today, Shannon thinks Clark hates her. The next day, Chris walks up to her and tells her he hates her. Shannon stays the same and doesn’t mind what her friends say. On the third day, she learns that Kimberly and Nathan also can’t stand her. Shannon doesn’t realize at once the importance and the need for self improvement until the entire community hates her.
We finally see the warning signs and signals when things get rough and tough. When do we realize that we need to go on a diet? When our jeans and shirts don’t fit us anymore.
When do we stop eating or reduce the amounts of sweets we eat? When all of our teeth start to rot and visits to the dentist become more frequent.
When do we realize that we need to stop smoking? When our lungs have gone bad and our voice starts croaking.
When do we pray and ask for help? When we realize that we’re just might die tomorrow.
Most of us only learn about unleashing our personal development potential when the whole world is crashing down around us. Our situations prove uneasy to change, but those situations become more painful when we continue refusing to change them.
Change will happen, like it or not. At one point or another, you’re going to experience different turning points in your life. And you’re going to eventually unleash your potential for personal development — not because the world says so, not because your friends nag you, but because you realize it’s for your own good.
Happy people don’t just accept change, they embrace it. Now, you don’t have to feel tremendous heat before realizing the need for self improvement. Unleashing your potential means freeing yourself from the cage of thought that “it’s just the way I am.” Such a poor excuse for people only feeds fear and resistance to change.
Most of us program our minds like computers. For instance, Jessica repeatedly tells everyone that she’s afraid to be around groups of people. She hears her mom, her dad, her sister, her teacher say the same thing about her to other people. And over the years, that’s what Jessica comes to believe. She believes it truly is her story.
And what happens? Every time a great crowd gathers at her house, in school, and in the community, she tends to step back, shy away and lock herself up in a room. Jessica doesn’t just believe her story, she actually lives it.
Personal development may not be everybody’s cup of tea. But if you look at things from a different point of view, you might have greater chances of enjoying the whole process instead of sitting back and counting the days until you’re fully improved (and those days will never come anyway).
Three sessions a week at the gym results in a healthier life. Going out with friends and peers helps you take a step back from work and unwind. And just when you’re enjoying the whole process of unleashing your personal development potential, you realize you’re beginning to take things easier and become happier.
