THE COMPETITIVE OF DAILY LIVING
THROUGH A NATURAL LAW OF CAUSE AND EFFECT, WHEN WE IMPROVE OURSELCES, THE THINGS WE WOULD LIKE TO HAVE IN OUR LIVES FOLLOW NATURALLY. IMPROVE WHO YOU ARE , AND BY THAT SAME LAW, YOU WILL IMPROVE YOUR LIFE. THE MORE SUCCESSFUL YOU BECOME INSIDE, THE MORE SUCCESSESS YOU WILL AUTOMATICALLY CREATE ON THE OUTSIDE. BUT MAKING CHANGES ON THE INSIDE IS SELDOM AS EASILY ACCOMPLISHED AS WE WOULD LIKE IT TO BE.
WHEN WE WANT TO IMPROVE OURSELVES IN SOME WAY, WE ARE NOT JUST COMPETING WITH OUR OLD PROGRAMMING, WEARE COMPETITING WITH REQUIREMENTS OF DAILY LIVING. EACH OF US HAS THREE RESOURCES THAT ALLOW US TO GET THROUGH ANY GIVEN DAY. THOSE RESOURCES ARE OUR TIME, OUR ENERGY, AND OUR MIND (WHAT AND HOW WE THINK).
OUR DESIRE TO IMPROVE OURSELVES COMPETS WITH THE TIME WE SPEND WORKING, TAKING CARE OF OUR FAMILIES, AND TAKING CARE OF THE REST OF OUR NEEDS. IT COMPETS WITH THE ENERGY WE CONSUME DOING EVERYTHING NECESSARY JUST TO KEEP OUR LIVES IN SOME REASONABLE ORDER. SOMETIMES, MOST DAYS FOR SOME OF US, THERE IS JUST NO ENERGY LEFT. SOMETIMES, MOST DAYS FOR SOME OF US, THERE IS JUST NO ENERGY LEFT. OUR DESIRE TO IMPROVE OURSELVES COMPETS WITH THE DEMANDS THAT WE OR OTHERS HAVE PLACED ON US MENTALLY, AS WELL. WE HAVE SO MANY THINGS TO FIGURE OUT, PROBLEMS TO SOLVE, THINGS TO CONSIDER, UNDERSTAND, AND DEAL WITH.
WE ARE SO BUSY TAKING CARE OF FIRST THINGS FIRST THAT WE HAVE NO TIME, ENERGY, OR THOUGHT LEFT TO TAKE CARE OF THE ONE THING THAT COULD MAKE ALL OF THE OTHER THINGS WORK BETTER. WE ARE TOO BUSY FIXING THE TRAIN TO REALIZE THAT WE ARE ON THE WRONG TRACK. WE ARE TOO BUSY STAYING ALIVE TO FIGURE OUR HOW TO LIVE.
I REMEMBER THE EXCITEMENT I FIRST FELT WHEN, MANY YEARS AGO, AS A YOUNG FATHER GOING BACK TO SCHOOL, I HAPPENED UPON WHAT I THOUGHT TO BE THE MOST EXCEPTIONAL SELF-IMPROVEMENT IDEA I HAD EVER ENCOUNTERED. IT WAS A SIMPLE IDEA, NEW AT THE TIME, I HAD EVER ENCOUNTERED. IT WAS A SIMPLE IDEA, NEW AT THE TIME, THAT WOULD REQUIRE ONLY THAT I SPEND TWENTY MINUTES EACH NIGHT WRITING MY GOALS, REVIEWING MY PROGRESS, AND MENTALLY VISUALIZING REACHING EACH GOAL I WAS SETTING. I DIDN'T HAVE TO BE CONVINCED THAT IF I SPEND EVEN THAT SMALL AMOUNT OF TIME EACH DA CONCENTRATING ON MY GOALS, ESPECIALLY AT NIGHT JUST BEFORE I WENT TO SLEEP DREAMING ABOUT THEM, THAT I COULD ACHIEVE ANYTHING I WANTED. IT'S STILL A GREAT IDEA, ONE OF THE CLASSICS - AND IT CAN WORK.
WHAT I DID NOT KNOW THEN, BUT SOON LEARNED, WAS THAT EVEN TWENTY MINUTES A NIGHT IS SOMETIMES HARD TO COMY BY. WHEN YOU ARE, AS I WAS AT THE TIME, HOLDING DOWN A JOB, RAISING A FAMILY, AND ALSO GOINT TO SCHOOL WITH A FULL-TIME COLLEGE-LEVEL COURSE LOAD, JUST TRYING TO GET FIVE OR SIX HOURS OF SLEEP A NIGHT IS CHALLENGE. WHEN MY MIND WAS SOMEWHERE BETWEEN STUDYING FOR A PSYCHOLOGY EXAM AND FINISHING A BUSINESS PLAN THAT WAS DUE AT EIGHT O'CLOCK THE NEXT MORNING AT THE OFFICE, THE TWENTY MINUTES I WAS SUPPOSED TO SPEND EACH NIGHT WORKING OUR MY GOAL PLAN AND "IMPROVING MYSELF" SOON MOVED FROM AN EXALTED POSITION OF IMPORTANCE TO AN IMPOSSIBILE CHORE. IT'S HARD TO STUDY YOUR GOALS WHEN YOU CAN'T KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN.
THE EXPERIENCE WITH SELF-IMPROVEMENT WAS NOT UNIQUE. THE NIGHTY GOALS IDEA ITSELF MIGHT HAVE BEEN GREAT, BUT , AS I WAS TO LEARN LATER, I WAS NOT MENTALLY READY TO MAKE THE IDEA WORK. I HAD NOT FIRST WIRED MY BRAIN WITH THE RIGHT MENTAL TOOLS TO MAKE THE IDEA WORK.
THE RIGHT TOOLS
TO THIS DAY, COUNTLESS PEOPLE HAVE TRIED THE SAME KINDS OF MARVELOUS IDEAS, WITH THE SAME RESULTS. OF THOSE, TOO FEW OF THEM STUCK IT OUT AND STAYED WITH IT. I APPLAUD THOSE WHO HAVE. BUT I FEEL DEELPLY FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NOT, DESPITE THEIR DESIRE TO ACHIEVE THEIR GOALS. THEY JUST DIDN'T HAVE THE RIGHT PROGRAM IN PLACE TO GET THE JOB DONE. THEY WANTED TO ACHIEVE, AND IF THEY HAD FIRST REWIRED AND REPLACED SOME OF THEIR PROGRAMS, THEY WOULD HAVE.
HOW, THEN, CAN ANY GOOD AND TRUE IDEA THAT CLEARLY COULD IMPROVE OUR LOT IN LIFE HOPE TO SUCCEED WHEN FEW OF US HAVE THE TIME, PHYSICAL ENERGY, OR MENTAL ENERGY LEFT OVER TO EVEN GIVE IT A TRY? THE ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION IS VERY IMPORTANT. IT IS THE ANSWER THAT WILL MAKE ONE GOOD IDEA WORK WHEN ANOTHER WILL NOT. FOR ANY PERSONAL GROWTH CONCEPT TO BE SUCCESSFUL, IT HAS TO BE SIMPLE. IT HAS TO BE EASY TO USE. IT HAS TO BE EASY TO PUT INTO PRACTICE. AND IT HAS TO WORK.
