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Originally Posted by JMonkey  I've been into personal development for some time now, perhaps a little over a year and a half. Over that time I have read many books, documents, websites, forums; I have also watched videos and listened to audio tapes.
In that time I have realised that I have a great potential. I have come to realise that there are many things in this world which I want to do and I know what things I have to do to improve my life.
The trouble is however, whilst I know doing these things will improve my life dramatically I fail to get the ball rolling at a constant speed. Instead I will gently nudge it a cm or two one week, then it won't move for weeks at a time. You see, when I read/listen/watch information on personal development, nothing really clicks in my head. I will read through and say "Yeah, that makes sense" but I won't have that "WOW! This is going to make the difference"
I'm getting really frustrated with myself, it's as though there is a little me inside my head tearing his hair out screaming "Do something, do anything!!!" but my actual self just lays there like a stuffed walrus.
Sure, at least I have the right idea in my head about my life; but what good is that without action? |
I can relate.
I'd say my dominant alignment resides in the principles of truth (knowledge; mental understanding; self awareness; etc) and love (passion; connection with my desires and what I enjoy; being caring and attentive; etc), but exercising power (getting things done; initiating something; saying yes to what I want, and no to what I don't; etc) is a challenge for me.
I've learned the most about power from modeling--exposing myself to--those who are aligned with power and the work they produce.
In terms of people to model...
I find
Slade Roberson's blog (and Slade himself) to be a great help in terms of being able to see someone who embodies power, but also love and truth. One of the (many) messages I get from reading Slade's articles is "making use of the law of attraction and your intuition is great, but reality is here and now, and to make the shifts you desire, you must ground yourself where you stand and work from there."
Steve (Pavlina) is also great. What I love about Steve is that he's resonates strongly with power, but is also very authentic and humble. I will mention, however, that I find modeling Steve as a person to be more effective than trying to take action on the ideas in his blog posts (in my experience, a lot of Steve's specific ideas about how to do things don't always work for me, so I remember that when I read his article and do my best to learn from and be inspired by the example Steve sets, not just the ideas he shares. For me, Steve's articles and ideas are the medium for his example--his example being the thing I consider to be truly valuable). (Oh, and don't forget Erin--Steve's wife--as someone to learn from. Erin is certainly has no problems making things happen, and more recently, I've do believe I've seen much more power in the post and articles I've seen from her. Maybe I'm just seeing what I want to see, heh, but Erin seems much more focused and seated in her power these days).
I also have a close friend who, in my opinion, has good power alignment. I interact with her frequently and in the short time I've known her, she's helped me jump up a few notches in terms of power by showing me an example of what a powerful person looks like in action.
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I've been consciously exploring personal development for about 3 years, and I had the same thoughts as you about 2 years ago. If I was talking to myself from 2 years ago I'd say:
Relax, relax... you're doing fine. 
What you're experiencing is part of the process. Consider that before you begin to get results you might just need more knowledge--and that said knowledge might come not from a book or article you read, but from trying to make progress towards what you want and failing... and failing... and failing. As you keep going you'll learn what works and what doesn't, and most of all, you'll learn about yourself. Do you have a goal that you've been working on, but make little progress with? Maybe it's because you don't even care about the goal to begin with, and maybe you don't even have enough self-awareness or connection with your true desires to realise this. If that is the case, you can try to find a solution to that 'problem' by reading more, but maybe it's not a problem, just something to accept as something that true for you now, where you stand.
What I said was very personal to me and my experience of personal development (after all, I did say I was speaking to myself from 2 years ago
), but hopefully you can see some of yourself in my self from 2 years ago and find some benefit from what my present self had to say.
By the way, my present self has failed even
more than my self from 2 years ago, and isn't much more sure of where he's going or what the best solution is, but he has learned to make peace with that and drop the idea of "one day I'll have the ultimate solution," which keeps you in seeking mode instead of
doing and
enjoying mode--although he realises that seeking mode is still useful, and is something he still slips into at times so he can
re-learn and learn more about lessons he's already learned. He finds it easier to recognise patterns these days and maintain the states he desires, but he also finds that there are always new, more challenging challenges, and that's something to embrace
as your real work, not as something that's in the way of what you want.
You said:
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Sure, at least I have the right idea in my head about my life; but what good is that without action?
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There might be a reason you learn as much as you do. Perhaps (gasp!) you enjoy it (dun, dun, DUN!).
One thing I've learned about myself is that I enjoy exploring. I'm a serial explorer--I LOVE to explore.
I used to beat myself up for moving onto something else--another book; another project; another experience--without finishing what I was previously engaged in, but I've since learned that I wasn't engaging in it to produce results--I was engaging in it to explore. I wanted to enjoy the journey, not arrive at a destination. If anything, exploring was the destination for me, and once I had had explored as much as I desired, my journey was complete and my destination was reached.
You might think "that sounds like a recipe for no results," but the more I indulge my desire to explore, the more I see it as a useful strength that exposes me to many new ideas and resources that ultimately help me in my personal development, and also in my career (looking for the perfect career path was also something I used to do, and I'd be uber frustrated whenever I "thought I had something" that I later didn't end up having as much long-term interest in as I thought I would. I now attribute the "this is interesting now, but maybe not later" to my urge to explore. Of course, if I want results I have to stick to something, but I give myself permission to explore more these days).
In all of these words, I think my point is to enjoy the journey and consider that the journey itself might very well be the destination you seek. Here's a really good line I'd deliver to my self from 2 years ago (my present self could also benefit from hearing it too, heh):
The more you seek some sort of idealistic destination, the more you miss out on the amazing one you're already at. Even if it seems unlikely, consider--just for a moment--that where you are right now is already the 'there' you are hoping to get it. From that place, ask yourself: "what would I like to do that I've arrived where I want to go?" My answer is usually "what I'm doing now, or something similar," which helps me realise that I'm doing what I'm doing not just to reach a destination, but because, for a large part, it IS the destination--something I enjoy. I engage in it for the joy of it.