Self-Development 101

You Alone Create Your Future

Where is a Good Place to Start?

Start with your Mind and Body, and their connection. You’ll see from later down this post that there is more than this, however you have to climb the ladder somewhere.

Understand that life is about constant growth, and that you will more than likely never stop.

If you do then it is a slippery slope back into the void. You don’t want to be that person who doesn’t take care of themselves. It’s true I’m sorry.

Understand that you are going to be put in a place of discomfort, and that the more you go along it gets more energizing. Notice how I didn’t say it gets better because it shouldn’t. The point of growth is to be uncomfortable regardless of your skill level.

The dynamic of Self-Improvement or Self-Development, whichever, is that of a constant state of being in flux. You need to visualize it as a cup of water, the more you put in the better, put too much and you’re wasting water. Just like in finance you have to diversify.

Check What Habits that are Destroying You Now

I am nearly 100% sure you are doing something right now that is costing you an extremely high amount of “life points”. For example despite having really good sleep weeks prior, this week I have been sleeping in far too much. Which dips into my snowball effect. Such as waking up early, making bed, getting ready for the day, and continuing onward. It is making that less effective.

If you are consuming too much sugar or caffeine, then stop.

If you are not getting enough exercise or sleep, then start.

If you need to get nutrients in your diet, the get them.

I know how hard it can be too, for I have always been a caffeine junky. Still am addicted to caffeine, but I have been able to tame my desire at least by drinking tea instead of unhealthy sources.

Four Pillars

Mind

Focus! Seriously need I say more? The ability to do something more than five minutes is something every person of every generation is starting to lose the ability to do. This is simply because of the rise of technology, and in the long run I don’t quite see it as a super bad thing. However we are not in the future, and we still need the skill.

One surefire way to learn and adapt yourself to this skill (Note: That this is super helpful with those who deal with ADD, or Dementia), is meditation. It has been shown to help with ADD/ADHD students, and is being tested currently to help with Alzheimer's and Dementia patients. For those who do not deal with those situations, it can only improve your baseline. That is something that should NOT be overlooked. I am literally only writing this post right now because of my mindfulness to keep going. Even though I want to go watch some show or YouTube.

Body

All the body really is, is a series of levers and gears. Overall the function of those movements come from the muscles contracting and relaxing (that is an important bit to note), that all work together to shift weight from one place to another. The Physics behind it come from various levels of potential and kinetic energies.

Take that for what you will, you need exercise to keep everything functional. It helps the metabolism, so you get to use and create your energy. It helps with lubrication of joints, meaning it helps you do more exercise. As well as increase your strength, making you into a much more defined machine.

Spirit

I am not saying that you have to be religious at all, and in fact if you aren’t then you’re gonna have an easier time with this part. Your deep essence as it were can simply be explained via your subconscious. That is a nice way to think about it in a simpler manner.

Metaphysically speaking I like to visualize it as your connection to the universe. This greatly pairs with many eastern philosophies, and for those who are westerners bear in mind you don’t have to believe in something to learn from it. I saw an article the other day that said “Yoga is demonic, and if you’re a good Christian you should stay away”, what a load of utter nonsense. Yoga is peaceful and relates in many ways to any Judaeo-Christian Belief.

Regardless of which explanation you prefer, you should honestly expand your horizons and wisdom.

Emotions

Having the power to understand your emotions puts you far ahead of a vast amount of people. Notice how I said “understand”, not control. You cannot truly fully control your emotions, as they often spawn from our lesser minds, the reptile region of the brain for example. Our higher consciousness can manipulate how we react, and control our actions.

However it would be foolish to believe we can control our natural feelings, and states. Only acknowledge them and move along.

Interactions Between Them

Each of these Pillars must be maintained in order to live a healthy life, but let it be said this is hard. It is not easy to maintain one of them, let alone all four at once. However in order to take control of your life you must do so.

The very balance between the mind and body is dynamic, add in the other two and it only exponentially grows more crazy. This is both a good and bad thing, as it allows you to predict what will happen next. Then plan around it.

For one you can think of it as actual Pillars, and visualize them cracking when you are not taking care of it. When one Pillar supporting your building of life gets damaged, the others will be strained. When you let one go completely, the rest quickly fall out of balance.

However conversely you are able to improve the other ones slightly, when you work hard towards repairing or growing another.

Just bear in mind if you focus too much on one, say your Body Pillar in the gym, then the others can suffer from not getting enough of your time.

Why We Should Care

Here is a bit of a story. I was in an interview once on Live Long Digital, with Prosper Taruvinga. A truly great host, and he asked me a question that still resonates “Why should someone start Self-Development?”.**Livelong Digital***

I hope my reaction didn’t seem rude because I was dumbfounded. Not because he asked, as I am really grateful to him for bringing my mind around to the idea. How could someone NOT want to pursue greatness inside of themselves?

This question seemed so alien to me I had to take a moment and process it. Now I know I am practically alien compared to most people, and I’m totally happy with being different. It is what causes me to write these posts!

However it is a matter of humanity’s inherent being to improve and learn. I would say it is the mark of a “Superman” -Nietzsche, or Self-Reliant being that constantly improves oneself. You can never be 100% perfect, but if you try to be the best you can be then you can get close.

Story Time!

Take a sales rep, many people learn the basics, maybe some accounting, but that is it.

Imagine if that same sales rep learned about micro-expressions, body language, human behavior, psychology, personal presentation, story telling ability, etc. How much better of a sales person he/she would be??

I was reading “Rich Dad Poor Dad”, and there was a “scene” where Robert was talking to an interviewer in Singapore (Little note I really want to live there!). As she was asking him questions, he offered some advice, which to say the least she did not take kindly. In her position she had worked hard towards getting to where she was, took a massive amounts of school, and was set on becoming a writer.

He had simply said perhaps in your spare time learn how to become a sales-person, it could help you sell your book. She had taken such a keen offense that she stormed off just a little while later. All he had tried to do was expose an idea that would help her in her goals, but she thought it was below her to learn sales. I think if this happened today there would be a slightly less chance of that happening, but people are still quite closed-minded today even.

How Your Life Works

We ALL live in the roller coaster of life. It goes up and down, and we all have those high peaks, and deep trenches. Sometimes people never leave either, and they suffer. Yes you can suffer in the peaks as well.

You need to have balance, this is something I strongly advocate on all aspects of your existence.

Take note of when you are feeling really happy, or sad, and prepare for the next rise/fall. However more importantly be sure to still enjoy the moment at hand. Never get too fixated on the future or past. As it’s called, become a “NOWist”.

What Can Make it Better?

Self-Development! I mean isn’t that why we are all here on the post? Me writing and you reading, this isn’t my first rodeo either. I’ve been spewing out this information for years, and practicing what I preach.

If you can find a way to stay present in the everyday moment, and accomplish more in a day. Then you will be able to exponentially improve your life. Follow the Four Pillars Philosophy, it helps to simplify your existence into a manageable state for daily use.

Take heed on the advice today, everyone is different, but everyone is in need of balance!

Actionable Steps:

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