If you were new to personal development

[Maxwell]

Asumme you lack confidence & discipline, have bad habits, manage your time poorly and lack clear goals. You need a total personal effectiveness makeover. Which of these things do you address first? What do you start? What has worked for you?

[Baltar]

Start with the Physical. I think that's pretty good advice, it has certainly helped me.

[Maxwell]

I had not realized there was a site that this forum was based upon. I stumbled upon it when searching for information about a certain self help author. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. Though I don't have all of the problems above, I can certainly better myself in all of those categories. I think I will begin by browsing through steve's most popular entries, then cross referencing his list of self help books with mine.

[jbischke]

That's good advice.

I'd also recommend to totally immerse yourself in positivity. What you watch on the tele (TheSecret.tv if you haven't already), what you listen to on the way to work (LearnOutLoud.com vs. morning rush hour crap radio ), who you spend time with, what you read on the Net.

All of these things shape who you are. Use them rather than being used by them.

[Cron]

Originally Posted by Baltar

Start with the Physical. I think that's pretty good advice, it has certainly helped me.

I would add clothing and environment to "the physical" to start with. Neither will involve the level of soul searching deeper changes require and both will give you a much needed boost.

[Lucas]

I was there about 6 months ago, and have many years ahead of me to work on myself, but I would start with your diet, and being honest with yourself about what needs changed.

[Alvin]

Ditto start with the physical, and the clothes with environment.

Plus, start hanging out with more positive people

[Akashic_Librarian]

Change your diet, get your consciousness level up before you make changes to your life like that. You need to be thinknig clearly.

[icesar]

Certainly makes sense. Thanks for pointing out one of the articles that I'd missed. And thanks for the LearnOutLoud.com suggestion, I love it!

[Yellow]

Originally Posted by Maxwell

Asumme you lack confidence & discipline, have bad habits, manage your time poorly and lack clear goals. You need a total personal effectiveness makeover. Which of these things do you address first? What do you start? What has worked for you?

Wow, that is so me. I used to be so much better when I hadn't consciously thought about personal development but was reading a lot of self-help books. I am coming back to it by focusing on my biggest problem, the main thing that I have lost confidence in. I am trying to learn to trust my abilities and giving myself goals to clear up the vagueness in my life. Trying to break my life down in categories so that I can work on them. I am beginning by reading 7 habits by Stephen Covey because this is the book that turned my life around, last time I was on it. I trust this book and my relationship with it.

I believe that once I know what direction I want to go in and I believe that I can do whatever I want to do, I will learn to manage my time and priorities. Only problem is, I cant wait till I am done reading this book. I want to clear up my mind ASAP.

[Acting Like Godot]

Originally Posted by Maxwell

Asumme you lack confidence & discipline, have bad habits, manage your time poorly and lack clear goals. You need a total personal effectiveness makeover. Which of these things do you address first? What do you start? What has worked for you?

For a first step, I would recommend getting to know yourself. For example, try the Myer-Briggs, the Enneagram, the Gallup Strengthsfinder and the Kingdomality personality tests.

Self-knowledge is important because there are many kinds of persons you were never meant to be. Seek to grow into the best you possible. But remember - it's still gotta be you.

[Maxwell]

Interesting suggestions. Especially "thesecret.tv," what kinda crap is that? Seems like a bunch of bull to me, $5 to learn the secret of the universe?

[Maxwell]

Can someone who mentioned "clothes with environment" provide a link to whatever they are talking about, please?

[Lucas]

Originally Posted by Maxwell

Interesting suggestions. Especially "thesecret.tv," what kinda crap is that? Seems like a bunch of bull to me, $5 to learn the secret of the universe?

The Secret is Intention-Manifestation, so I saved you 5 bucks...however it is worth watching, and there are more unscrupulous ways to get it, if you can make the inferrence.

I-M is an excellent positive mindset change, even if you get nothing else from it. However, challenging your personal paradigms is a big part of PD, imo.

[Cron]

Originally Posted by Maxwell

Interesting suggestions. Especially "thesecret.tv," what kinda crap is that? Seems like a bunch of bull to me, $5 to learn the secret of the universe?

Hi Maxwell, I don't believe in magic either. However, visualization has been proven to be effective for some problems. Athletes who visualize better technique improve faster, for example.

Visualization can help you train yourself to change your dispositions and habits.

I'm sure there are new books on the subject, but as with many PD things, it is not new. There is an old book I know about ( ie read it for free from your library ) called "Psychocybernetics".

[Cron]

Originally Posted by Maxwell

Can someone who mentioned "clothes with environment" provide a link to whatever they are talking about, please?

No URLs, that came straight out of me. It is one of those "time honored wisdom" things that I have confirmed from my own experience.

Ever hear the saying "Clothes make the man" ?

By dressing better I mean clean, properly taken care, fashionable, nicer clothing. By changing your physical environment I mean a cleaner place, better organization, more cheery surroundings ( new color of paint, better furniture, more sunlight, rearranging what you have got etc ). Common sense really.

By improving your clothing as well as your habitat you will be sending a strong message to others AND TO YOURSELF that something new is happening, that you are worth it. It will jump start some positive energy for you.

[Maxwell]

Thank you both for the clarification there. Some parts of I-M seem very reasonable to me and I plan on trying them. I will look for that book at the local library and I've found a "friend" who is letting me borrow that movie.

[John Hill]

I'd start with the discipline. With discipline you can get all the other areas of your life into shape a lot quicker. Without discipline you may end up running around in circles and spend a whole lot of time going no where.

John