Studying and learning self-improvement material is essential for self-growth but it is only a prerequisite. We don't actually grow by learning; we grow by doing. The world is filled with Mensa candidates who are also total and abject failures.
Case in point, William James Sidis, often cited as one of the most intelligent people who ever lived, had an IQ estimated to be between 250 and 300. He died at age 46, sad and alone. A destitute that never accomplished anything worthwhile.
On the other hand, the tales of great men and women who reached the pinnacle of success and achievements with little or no formal education could fill an entire library.
The brain does not become more effective and creative by assimilating but by expressing. Growth is an active process not passive one. A writer gets to be a better writer by writing and not by reading about the art of writing and no one would suggest that it would be wise to learn how to swim by reading about it.
Self-improvement is most effectively accomplished through experiencing first hand new situations and new conditions. We grow through the actual practice of problem solving, reasoning and creating. Each new experience opens up new channels and forms new circuits in the brain. That's how we evolve and grow.
We don't even know what we are capable of until we put ourselves in conditions where no retreat is possible. That is when we tax our resources to the limit and start exploring the rarefied strata of the intellect. Wisdom is found on the mountaintop, not in the valleys. We grow when we stretch ourselves, not when we complacently navigate in the placid waters of the experienced and known.
The analogy between self-improvement and bodybuilding is a great one. It is only by pushing himself to the limits that the bodybuilder will achieve outstanding results and it is only by forcefully stretching the mind to its limits that the self-improvement aficionado will ever become all that he could be.
The adage that says, no pain, no gain, takes on its full meaning in the realm of self-improvement. It's always a lot easier to read a new book or attend a new seminar on the subject than it is to jump in the fray and put into practice what has already been learned. That's the reason we have so many armchair coaches and unemployed gurus.
These people mean well and they have the feeling that they are growing and making progress. They feel that they are just waiting to find the ultimate secret that will unlock the door to huge success and grandiose accomplishments. The secret is there and they have seen it hundreds of time without ever grasping it. That secret is called, action.
No action, no accomplishment. No accomplishment, no new insight. No new insight, no self-development. It all comes back to square one, action. It is through massive action that we push back the limits. It is by pushing the limits that we expand and grow. There is no other secret; there is no other technique. The secret is here in a nutshell, action.
This is not an argumentation against education or self-improvement material in any of its forms. If we aspire to ever become all that we can be, we need some guidelines; we need to know what works and what doesn't. We need the advices of the great gurus to guide us in our journey. But, we also need to know that knowledge without action is moot.
Dr. Raymond Comeau aka Shamou is the Author of ShamouBlog and Owner Administrator of Personal Development for Personal Success Forums
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