3 ways to improve yourself
Everyone wants a better life
If you surveyed a crowd and asked them if they would like a better quality of life, almost all of them would answer with a resounding "YES"! Most people want a life of more joy and happiness, less pain and problems, deeper relationships, more time for what they love, and more financial resources. Still, few people see their life getting better over time. Most are satisfied with an average life, a quality of life that is less than desired and below its potential. Why is this? Why did we settle down?
Life gets better when you do
Brian Tracy said, "Your life will get better when you are better." Many people feel that their lives should get better because time has passed. The idea is that if we wait long enough, our "big break" will come. It's just a myth! A better quality of life is achieved when we make the conscious decision to improve ourselves. And here is the problem. Most people just weren't ready to do anything to improve. James Allen put this perfectly in his little book As A Man Thinketh: “Men strive to improve their living conditions but are unwilling to improve themselves; therefore they remain bound. ”Why are most people unwilling to improve?
It takes work
It was Thomas Edison who famously quipped, "Most people miss an opportunity because they wear overalls and look like work." At some point, most people realize that it takes work to move forward and get better in every area of their lives. A lot of work! And at the end of the day we just don't want to do everything we can to get better.
It takes work to stop doing all of the things that undermine your progress, be it procrastination, laziness, doubt or fear. It was Theodore Roosevelt who said, "If you could kick the pants of the person responsible for most of your problems, you wouldn't be sitting for a month."
It takes work to improve your social skills and add new habits to move you forward. If it was easy to get better, self improvement would be an epidemic. But we know that is not the case. Average is normal.
How do we get better?
1. Get dissatisfied
The first step in improving yourself is to become dissatisfied with where you are. You have to decide that you want something better. Something better in your relationships, your health, your financial situation, or your beliefs. As Thomas Edison put it, "Dissatisfaction is the first necessity of progress." If we are thoroughly dissatisfied with our present state, we will be motivated enough to do what we must to change.
2. Become a reader
Everything you need to know to make your life better has been researched and written. The people are amazing! Through life experience, study and reflection, they have learned how to do almost everything well. From investing to organizing, caring for pets, starting a business to solving marital problems ... everything has been written down for you. What an amazing truth! All you have to do is find the books and take the time to read them. Mark Twain has been credited with saying, "The man who doesn't read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them." If you want to improve your life, read for 20-30 minutes a day.
3. Get help from others
In all areas of life there are people who have arrived where you want to go. They managed to achieve what you want to achieve. No matter what it is, they made it. And guess what ... they revealed how they did it. You wrote it on a CD, podcast, book, or lecture. Many people are even willing to respond to an email request. This principle helped Tony Robbins, the famous human development expert, radically change the way he lived. He wrote, “I realized a long time ago that success leaves a mark and that people who get great results do certain things to get those results. I believed that if I closely replicated the actions of others, I could reproduce the same quality of results as they did. ”He did just that and much more!
If you surveyed a crowd and asked them if they would like a better quality of life, almost all of them would answer with a resounding "YES"! Most people want a life of more joy and happiness, less pain and problems, deeper relationships, more time for what they love, and more financial resources. Still, few people see their life getting better over time. Most are satisfied with an average life, a quality of life that is less than desired and below its potential. Why is this? Why did we settle down?
Life gets better when you do
Brian Tracy said, "Your life will get better when you are better." Many people feel that their lives should get better because time has passed. The idea is that if we wait long enough, our "big break" will come. It's just a myth! A better quality of life is achieved when we make the conscious decision to improve ourselves. And here is the problem. Most people just weren't ready to do anything to improve. James Allen put this perfectly in his little book As A Man Thinketh: “Men strive to improve their living conditions but are unwilling to improve themselves; therefore they remain bound. ”Why are most people unwilling to improve?
It takes work
It was Thomas Edison who famously quipped, "Most people miss an opportunity because they wear overalls and look like work." At some point, most people realize that it takes work to move forward and get better in every area of their lives. A lot of work! And at the end of the day we just don't want to do everything we can to get better.
It takes work to stop doing all of the things that undermine your progress, be it procrastination, laziness, doubt or fear. It was Theodore Roosevelt who said, "If you could kick the pants of the person responsible for most of your problems, you wouldn't be sitting for a month."
It takes work to improve your social skills and add new habits to move you forward. If it was easy to get better, self improvement would be an epidemic. But we know that is not the case. Average is normal.
How do we get better?
1. Get dissatisfied
The first step in improving yourself is to become dissatisfied with where you are. You have to decide that you want something better. Something better in your relationships, your health, your financial situation, or your beliefs. As Thomas Edison put it, "Dissatisfaction is the first necessity of progress." If we are thoroughly dissatisfied with our present state, we will be motivated enough to do what we must to change.
2. Become a reader
Everything you need to know to make your life better has been researched and written. The people are amazing! Through life experience, study and reflection, they have learned how to do almost everything well. From investing to organizing, caring for pets, starting a business to solving marital problems ... everything has been written down for you. What an amazing truth! All you have to do is find the books and take the time to read them. Mark Twain has been credited with saying, "The man who doesn't read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them." If you want to improve your life, read for 20-30 minutes a day.
3. Get help from others
In all areas of life there are people who have arrived where you want to go. They managed to achieve what you want to achieve. No matter what it is, they made it. And guess what ... they revealed how they did it. You wrote it on a CD, podcast, book, or lecture. Many people are even willing to respond to an email request. This principle helped Tony Robbins, the famous human development expert, radically change the way he lived. He wrote, “I realized a long time ago that success leaves a mark and that people who get great results do certain things to get those results. I believed that if I closely replicated the actions of others, I could reproduce the same quality of results as they did. ”He did just that and much more!