Lifestyle

How to Improve Yourself -Read This Before You Read Your Next Self Help Book

Do you want to know the number one top tip for how to improve yourself? The next two words, if actually applied, will change your life.

Take Action

how to improve yourself

Actually taking action is a concept that is, in principal, so simply. But there seems to be a lot of hesitation on taking action and actually applying certain basic principals such as gratitude, positive thinking, and self-awareness tools that hundreds of thousands of self help sand self development books are conveying to their readers.

It is easy to read the book- but it is what you do with the information you have read that actually counts.

We are all guilty of this, including me. We all have different places that we are at for self improvement- I definitely look at self improvment as a consistent journey. Once that should be enjoyed and filled with continual discovery about ones self and the world around them. For myself, I have worked toward the understanding that it really is not about the destination, but rather the enjoyment of the journey and the process itself. And to truly enjoy the process one must actually activate the process by taking action.

After years of reading so many self development books, I have noticed that if a person were to only do these 3 things *mentioned below, they would probably be able to eliminate reading majority of the books that keep coming to market.

So many books, and much more after that.

There is an overwhelming amount of books available on the topic of improving yourself. This is a good thing in many ways, because different writers and the way things are written resonate with different people. Everyone is buying them, lots of those people are reading them….

However-

How many are actually applying what they are reading?

It is one thing read a book, absorb and understand the material- in fact be in complete agreement that the material you read makes absolute sense-

But how many are actually taking action and actually doing what they have just read?

Could you be falling into the trap of reading, acknowledging and then repeating?

I am pointing this out because as a self development junkie with a thirst for knowledge this issue is real- the constant strive for further knowledge and education on the subject….

But it is meaningless without action.

Perhaps it would make more sense to read less and apply more- which is what I have been doing the past 6 months. Don’t get me wrong- I love them but I need to take a break. I want to spend my time doing rather than reading what I already have read but in a different way from another book… it makes sense to me to master the sound principals that keep coming up, intentionally highlighted within my mind telling me that it all goes back to a simple few things.

Gratitude

This following sentence really resonated with me when I first heard it; “How can you expect to have more in your life if you don’t already appreciate what you already have”? I love the concept of gratitude. I actually made a thankful jar (pic will be inserted here soon) and I wake up each morning and the very first thing I do it express gratitude for my health,  my dog (and his health) my home, my car, my lifestyle, opportunities on their way….etc.

Action item- As I said, I too am a constant work in progress and there are always ways that I can continue to improve and to take action. I would like to take action on creating a gratitude journal (actually, I have the journal I just need to write in it consistently) and taking it a step further I would like to say “I am grateful for… BECAUSE”.

Positive Thinking

I am a believer in the law of attraction.

There are so many application exercises that can be done- I try my best but I could still be putting more into action FOR SURE. I am thinking that I have a law of attraction challenge… comment if you would be interested in joining!

Self Awareness

Actual self awareness. You know the type where you look at parts of yourself and you just kind of realize how you have set yourself up to be your own worst enemy?

Knowing yourself and understanding yourself is… so important. Understanding your why’s… your core values….being aware of what you are surrounding yourself with is very important too. You might need to detox your life from certain people or environments, even foods/drinks.

The books you read, the shows you watch and the people you choose to surround yourself with all have an extreme impact on the totality of your life.

The purpose of this post is just to help you become aware

I am pointing this out so that if you are falling into the trap of the self help book binge that we can all be guilty of- without taking action- I am here to remind you that you could potentially be making a critical error of non application which is taking away from the purpose and point of why you are reading the book in the first place.

Unless you just like to read self help without actually wanting to improve your life… then just keep reading.

But I think for the majority the reasoning behind reading the book in the first place stems from the desire to improve, to get better, to evolve into a person with more strength, purpose, passion… etc.

So, what can you do?

Just take action. Like Nike says- just do it.

Just buy a journal and start writing. Start being thankful, mindful… just do it. If you think about it do it.

Taking action poses some risks yes- what if you follow through and do not get the results that you seek immediately?

But stay consistent and it will become a newly formed habit.

I often wonder what other, deeper issues this no action taking stem from.

There is a lot to do with the mindset- so as much as it is good to read up on improving yourself, just remember that actually taking action is the most important step of it all. And if you really feel you need some help taking action you might want to look further into hypnotherapy.

If you are wanting to improve your life and are interested in hypnotherapy as a tool to help you take action and improve your life, check out my latest course at www.journeytojoyproject.com .

I would love to hear your comments below!

Are you wanting to take action on anything specific? Write them below for some accountability!!!

 

6 thoughts on “How to Improve Yourself -Read This Before You Read Your Next Self Help Book”

  1. I definitely agree one of the most difficult things to do is to actually commit yourself to working toward one of your goals. I have often found myself thinking about my goals in the past and thinking about things I want to do but then never actually doing anything about it. It is often difficult to make a long term commitment to work toward something of interest, but it is really the only way to accomplish incredible things. Success certainly doesn’t come easy, but it starts with a single step!

    1. Hi Craig- totally agree with you that a single step is all it takes to head in the right direction! I often ponder at what common subconscious threads might be holding people back as it seems to be an issue for the masses.

  2. Wow… this is a wonderful article and website! I usually don’t care much for self-help articles due to the fact they are never helpful. But I truthfully love yours! I will be keeping an eye on this site!!!!

  3. Hi there,
    Love your post. I agree with you taking action is one of the most important step to improve pretty much… anything.
    Many people are unhappy because they don’t take action. Sometimes reading a book is like doing an experiment. You read, you learn and take action. I feel like not all the book/knowledge/method will be a good fit for you. However you won’t know until you take the action.
    Thanks for sharing!

  4. Hello Andrea! =)

    You’re spot on!

    We could all read hundreds of self improvement books and ‘know’ things on an intellectual level but it’s the knowledge + action which is the successful formula.

    I really enjoyed reading through this post and I will be returning to your website more often.

    Thank you =)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.