Have you ever heard someone say, "I read a book on Positive Thinking once and it did not help me." If that was not so sad, it would laughable. That's like saying, "I skipped a meal once and I did not lose any weight." It's not what we do once that changes anything. Personal positive changes (self-improvements) are the results of repetitions. It's not something that can be done overnight.
Learning techniques and theories on self-improvement is the base upon which self-growth is founded but that's just the first and easiest step. What we've learned has to be integrated in the wiring of our brain if it's to be of any use. That's the difficult part.
To understand how new material is integrated in our brain, we must know how the brain works. Every time that we are subjected to a new notion, a new electrical circuit is formed in the brain. The effectiveness of that new circuit depends on two factors.
The first of these two elements is the emotional intensity that this new notions will carry. If we stumble upon what we feel to be a fantastic life-changing notion, the circuit will immediately be very strong and become immediately effective.
On the other hand, if this new notion is simply "interesting" the circuit will be weak and probably will only last a short period of time and not be of much use. It will simply be stored in the brain along with billions of others experiences that we've had in the past and will only come back into the conscious on rare and very special occasions.
The second element that will affect the effectiveness of the circuit is repetitions. Every time that we review a new notion, the circuit gets stronger and stronger. That's how we get to learn new material or memorize anything. That is also how most of our work on self-improvement gets to be integrated in the brain.
That is why, instead of reading ten books on self-improvement, it would be more productive to read the same book ten times. Personally, I have spent well over 4000 hours studying Tony Robbins' book, Awaken the Giant Within.
The reason that I did that is not because I'm a slow learner. I'm average. The reasons that I did that are twofold. First, every time I reread the book, I found some new and important distinction that had escaped me before. And, second, I did it because I wanted to really integrate into the wiring of my brain the notions and theories that were to be found in that book.
Self-improvement means getting to be a new and different person. A more effective and happier person. It's not about learning new trick that will never be used. It's about changing the way that we think and behave. It's about seeing the world with a new eye and reacting to it differently.
We should see self-improvement like any other skill that we want to learn. We don't get to be a professional in any sport by reading a few books on the subject. We master the sport of our choice through constant practice until it gets to a point where there is no more thinking involved; to a point where it comes naturally.
It is at the point where we have transcended conscious thinking that we become truly affective in sports. It is the same with self-improvement. That will not happen overnight but it is possible for anyone who is willing to put in the time an effort to achieve mastery of the subject. The time investment is not negligible but the rewards are unbelievable - a life of achievement, satisfaction, peace of mind and happiness.
Dr. Raymond Comeau aka Shamou is the Author of ShamouBlog and Owner Administrator of Personal Development for Personal Success Forums
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