Anxiety or Boredom? Or is there a third alternative?

I’ve been wanting to write about “pushing your limits versus respecting them” for a while. I’ve always lingered on the “pushing” side more and I thought for a long time that it was the only avenue for personal growth. Still today, even though I’ve wanted to get rid of my anxiety for so long, if I’d be forced to choose between anxiety or boredom, I’d pick the former. I just like the feelings of “being in the action” and of “pushing myself” which come with new challenges. A few days ago though, I came across a graphic that introduces a third alternative!

We can clearly see how the Flow Channel is a limited space compared to the grey area, hence the difficulty I found in finding lasting satisfaction while trying to evolve. This is also in line with my recent articles on Self-Help Perseverance and How to Change the Subconscious Mind which encourage small and repetitive actions to induce permanent change. What gives the most effective results while remaining in the pleasant state of Flow are the SMALL, CONTINUOUS STEPS. The challenge is then to counter the propensity we have to want fast and apparent results. Motivating yourself over a long period of time to do a small task for which you don’t see obvious results can be a challenge. The level of faith you need to have in your endeavour is also greater as results will take longer to show up and will occur more gradually. Moreover, most (if not all!) personal growth and self-help programs are based on advertising THE miracle quick and effective solution. It might sell better, but anything only works to the extent of the efforts you put in. I’m a firm believer of free solutions readily available such as public domain books (if they’re still around after the copyright protection period expired, they must contain valuable lessons!) or videos on YouTube. Read “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill if you haven’t already!

I must confess though that I’ve already been seduced by books and programs with titles such as “Change Your Life in 7 Days” and “A 40-Day Guidebook of Subtle Shifts for Radical Change and Unlimited Happiness“. They were very helpful, that’s not the question, but both strongly suggested to continue on and to repeat the cycle over and over to get results! So I fall back on my beloved Bob Proctor who has forever claimed that he never studied anything intensively: just a few minutes every day for over 50 years! I guess that’s one more reason why he’s my favourite mentor. Interestingly enough, I just realized that this is also nature’s way of changing: small, incremental and slow changes. I’ve always been amazed at how water can carve out rock! So I guess that’s also one more argument in favour of my New Year’s Mental Bank resolution. I’m 4 days into it now (see picture) and I’ve got just a little over 4 years to reach my objective of living solely on passive income!

And it’s good not to have to choose between boredom or anxiety anymore!

Cheers!
Martin

Self-help books

Today we’re going to talk about self-help books. There’s a ton out there so it’s kind of difficult to choose the right one.  My favourite ones have always been gifts and recommendation from friends. So that gave me the idea to share a few valuable titles with you:

 

May Cause Miracles > by Gabrielle Bernstein

This book was great from the start! When I picked it up, I was looking for a day-to-day program because I felt I lacked discipline in my spiritual growth efforts. This book was super easy to use and yielded great benefits! Gabby’s program over 42 days is the perfect length to see changes occur and to create positive habits. Reading this book even convinced me to invest into her live seminar that she holds at Kripalu (Massachusetts) every year. This was one of the most cost-effective growth weekends in my entire life!

Get Gabby’s book!

 

 

 

 

Change your life in 7 days > by Paul McKenna

Following my first book recommendation, this second one attracted my attention with its title. I’m fervent of quick and effective solutions so I thought this book was the key. The 7-day program is indeed a great catalyst to propel you toward your dreams. I was disappointed at the end though when he says that the 7 days won’t help much if you don’t repeat the process every week. It makes total sense and I know that growth and wealth are gained through persistence rather than within a week. Still, this book, with its hypnosis CD, were definitely instrumental in shifting my thoughts and undertaking the efforts to change my life for the better.

Get Paul’s book!

 

The Spontaneous Fulfilment Of Desire: Harnessing The Infinite Power of Coincidences > by Deepak Chopra

Deepak Chopra is definitely my favourite self-help author of all times. I haven’t read his books lately, but I read several a few years ago, and they were definitely what fostered my passion for the self-help world. This particular one: The Spontaneous Fulfilment of Desire, was the most impactful for me. I discovered that doing the meditations included in this book helped me spend better days at work! It became easier to deal with difficult customers, I was less anxious and more confident in my presentations and when I faced the unexpected. Seeing my concrete day-to-day evolution definitely contributed to fuel my personal growth quest.

Get Deepak’s book!

 

Otherwise, please check out this great book that lists the 101 most popular self-help authors!

Top 101 Experts