How many self-help books have you read? How many seminars and workshops on personal development have you attended? How many blogs (like this one) do you subscribe to? How many emails do you get each day from teachers, writers, thought leaders, gurus? How many vision boards or mandalas have you created? How many inspirational apps are on your phone?
How different is your life today compared with ten years ago?
If your answer to that last question is that your life has amazingly transformed from what it once was, congratulations! That’s a fantastic thing to accomplish.
But if you’re like most people, not all that much has changed. You’re still struggling with the same financial situation. Your career is still limping forward. Your relationships are still trudging along. You’re still searching for that confidence, abundance, joy and peace you imagine to be just around the corner.
You understand so much more about the world and your place in it. But for some reason all this learning hasn’t translated into cash in the bank, a deeper love life, more effective parenting, a greater sense of security, more adventure or a feeling of significance. You’re not sure you’re making the difference you know you’re capable of, living the life you believe you were sent here for. But Why?
Why are you still seeking the pathway to the transformation you want? When will you stop seeking and start finding?
Could all those gurus be wrong? No, they’re not wrong. In fact, probably all of them are right. What’s missing is your part of the equation. What changed the trajectory of my life was focusing on my part of the equation.
Just do it.
Reading and learning are great ways of expanding your understanding and opening to new possibilities. But that next book on your list or the next workshop you’ve signed up for can become the reason you’re stuck. You think, when I’ve finished that book, then I’ll have what I need to create the change I’ve been seeking. The truth is you already have everything you need to experience the life you’re searching for. You’re powerful, courageous, capable and ready. You just need to step into a new reality.
Einstein is credited with saying that insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting different results. Creating change means doing something different, new, and what feels unpredictable. It means stepping into action amidst uncertainty. It means putting down that book and making the parts that resonate with you a real and habitual part of your life.
I’m not advocating that you stop reading and learning. Rather I am advocating that you do something different. Revisit a teaching or perspective that resonated with you strongly and create new habits, ways of thinking and ways of being based on what you’ve learned. But really do it. Don’t just think about it. Make plans. Put it in your calendar. Jump in with both feet and do something different. The equation of learning and doing will be balanced and it will continue to grow.
What has been the most influential for me? The work of Joseph Campell, Eckhart Tolle’s The Power of Now and A New Earth, the Hoffman Process and The Law of Attraction by Esther and Jerry Hicks.
Share with me in the comments below what has been most influential and transformational for you. I’ll likely add them all to my reading list.
© 2019 Paul Boehnke
If you’re interested in more discussion on this topic, join me in the Spiritual Finders group on Facebook.
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