Self-help books sell abundantly because they offer a quick fix. A set of guidelines that claim to work. Maybe they do for some people. But, will reading books about diet, resilience, and happiness make you thinner, more motivated and happier? Temporarily maybe. They might just be the spark you need to see the flame of growth, renewal.
I must admit I have read many a self-help book in my fifty plus years. I have dieted, exercised and changed my habits. Only to sneak back into my old ways. I figured out after a lot of trial and error that all of the suggestions dictated by others- only placated my sense of belonging. It made me feel like I was fighting 'the man' just like everyone else. I was bucking the system because everyone else was too. It gave me a sense of community- residence in that same village everyone else claims to be a member of.
I see the world uniquely- as most of us do. So why do we struggle so much to try and see the same way others do. Is that yearn for acceptance that powerful? Indeed it is. But, for those of us who have never quite fit in- it seems to be a pull of orbital proportions. It syncs us in someone else's revolution and rotation. Spinning us effortlessly into a path not of our own.
Goals, intentions, expectations are never anyone else's to give. They might be offered and we might accept them- but to no long term avail. We do not feel honest with ourselves and thus we revert back to a place where we do. This cycle is constant. This rising of the moon and setting of the sun is daily. It is unavoidable unless we set our circadian to our own clock.
Be true to yourself. Invest in yourself. But before you can do that- you have to find yourself. The sayings go. But, I think we know where we are, we know what we need, we understand ourselves. We just have to find the humility, to trust ourselves- and not blindly rely on others to shape us. It is the carving and chiseling that is the hardest. We are often afraid of digging too deep.
Resolute. Admirably staying the course. Being willing to bend and stretch. Veer and leap. All the while holding firm on where you need to go. Finding purpose, relevance and meaning. Isn't that what self-help is all about. Self-advocacy. Self-reliance. Some of us need clear, concise ways to make this happen. Thus a self-help industry. Some of us need to find it in ourselves or it will never stick and become permanent change.
Which ever you need. Invest in yourself. To be better, stronger, faster- you have to envision it first. Imagine the muscle strength, imagine the success, imagine the effort and determination. Only then can action take over. We can not teleport to a better us. Nor can we skip steps or read to the last page of the book. We must invest. We must entangle ourselves in the hard work and effort. That is the only way we can truly build the tissue mass into muscle strength.
Our brains are muscles after all. In order to strengthen our mindset we must exercise our will, our endurance, our self-worth. We have to feel it in every electrical impulse, shooting through our nervous system. We have to practice. We have to repeat. We have to trust our instincts and do it over and over and over until we feel confident. Then our muscle will sync with the impulse and we will be able to change.
This new year is not one of huge upheaval or massive course redirection. It is for me a year where I lift the weights and run the marathons and stretch my sore muscles so I can do it over and over again. It is about the incremental steps needed to accomplish what I see as a journey of endurance. That is what I have planned on the menu. Simple training of my mind and body in order to reach where I know I need to go.
I hope that for everyone out there, that you invest in yourself. Not with exercise equipment necessarily. Or books abound written by someone else. But that you write your own story. Page one is empty- so pick up a pen and start scribing your adventure. Believe in your intentions. Invest in your intentions. They are yours alone.
Write your prologue, write your chapters and no matter where your story takes you- keep investing. The greatest investment is in ourselves- for that is the only investment we control 100%. The interest, the dividends, the profit. We control it. You control it. Earn grace and hope every day- put it in your savings account- you will need it throughout the year. Spend what you need. Save more.
My first deposit is today. Right now. I invest in me. I believe in me. I trust myself. I am writing my own story. I own the publishing rights. #2021Write52 my pace, no one else's. My words, my parse or elaboration. My imagery or directness. It is mine and I will go where no one has gone before- because it is literally my universe, my orbit, my spacecraft, my space. I am pilot, astronaut- I am flight plan, launch and landing.
Count down.....5, 4, 3, 2, 1
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