Personal Development for Smart People
To be honest my expectations for Steve Pavlina’s book Personal Development for Smart People
I received the book for review on 17th September. You must be wondering why it took me so long to read it. You see whenever I read a book especially the one that interests me; I take my time with it and savour the experience (with a nice cup of tea of course). Also I try the suggestions or exercises if any and in Personal Development for Smart People
If you are new to personal development you might find this book overwhelming at first. But you need not to worry. Step by step as you go from one chapter to the next you will understand each of the seven principles in an easy and informal manner. By the time you finish reading this book you will be crystal clear on their meaning. You will also learn how these principles affect every area of your life and how by aligning yourself with them you can achieve true abundance. Though I was already familiar with these principles but the author’s insight was somewhat different in a way that he applied them to real life situations and problems.
Personal Development for Smart People
The first chapter deals with the principle of Truth. The author emphasizes the importance of being truthful to yourself and to your life. You might find the principle of truth a bit abstract. However in my opinion being truthful to yourself is the first step that you can take to change your life for the better. When you don’t deny or resist your present situation, you make better decisions to improve the current state of reality you are in. The author explains the key components of truth, of these, the one I found most intriguing was Self Awareness. Here the author talks about how we can build our awareness. He says that you can make better decisions when you are in a high state of awareness that is when you are “feeling alert, clear headed and intelligent”. This happens when you are in touch with your true self. This point makes sense to me as all the decisions I made while in such a state proved to be successful.
Also in this chapter are mentioned blocks to truth. I immediately identified my own block to truth which is social and media conditioning. I remember a time in my life when I was almost addicted to watching television; it wasn’t a very productive or happy period in my life. I haven’t given it up completely but I am more selective now in the number and quality of shows I watch. I have limit myself to two or three shows in a week. One of these days I will definitely try the Media Fast which has also been suggested in this chapter. Another factor which was blocking my way to the truth was social conditioning. I am not criticizing any culture or religion; I respect other people’s beliefs. We are all free to engage in a spiritual or religious practice that makes us feel happy and peaceful. Steve Pavlina says, “When you sense a conflict between your beliefs, your behavior, and your feelings, ask yourself if you really believe what you have been taught”. My answer is no. All I have to do is to look at myself as I was only a couple of years ago. I was not in control of my life and completely at the mercy of external factors and situations. I wasn’t at peace with myself. Now I have an inner sense of peace, power and happiness at all times even when the external circumstances are not in my favor. Amazingly things always turn out fine and at times even better then I expected. This is enough proof for me that I am going in the right direction. So what was wrong with my previous beliefs? There was nothing wrong with them, they were just very limited. Now I have a much broader perspective about all areas of life.
How can you be more truthful? The author gives some practical exercises in this chapter that will make you more aware about yourself and your life. Keeping a journal as suggested in this chapter is an effective way to keep track of your self development. A long time ago I used to keep diaries. I still have some of them. I don’t do that anymore but now I keep a gratitude journal. Only yesterday I was cleaning up my cupboard and I came across one of my old diaries. I was amazed that how far I have come since then. I felt like it wasn’t I who wrote such superficial things and come to think of it, it wasn’t I but my ego. A written record is an effective way to find out more about your self. Self awareness is really important because if you want to know where you are going, then it will be helpful if you knew where you have been. I was deeply moved by the poem at the end of this chapter called “The Guy in the Glass”. You can fool everyone in the world. You can pretend to be what you are not but can you really fool yourself?
The second chapter of this book is about Love. Readers who are new to personal development and spirituality will find this chapter highly insightful. I am already familiar with most of the concepts mentioned. What I got out of this chapter is how to apply these concepts in my daily life. For example I firmly believe that we are all connected and part of the same whole. However I am prone to loose sight of this fact when I am going through my day. I find exercises given in this chapter highly effective to tap in to the connection which already exists between all of us. The author says that the way we connect to people in our lives is an indication of how we connect to various parts of ourselves. So if you feel connected to your true or higher self then you will have no problem connecting with family, friends or at times with perfect strangers. I tried the Time Travel Meditation, which the author has explained in this chapter. In this meditation you have a conversation with your past, present and future selves. I enjoyed it tremendously. This chapter will improve your communication skills and help you develop meaningful and healthy relationships.
The third chapter deals with the concept of Power. The author explains how you can use your inner power to consciously create the life you desire. I am a big believer of being in the present moment but I also believe in setting goals for the future. For sometime I was struggling to find a way to set goals while being in the now. I am grateful to the author for providing the solution he says, “Whenever you consider a new goal, pay attention to the effect it has on your present reality. Set goals that make you feel powerful, motivated, and driven when you focus on them, long before the final outcome is actually achieved. Avoid setting goals that make you feel powerless, stressed or weak. Treat this process as a way to enhance your present focus, not as a way to control the future”. So now I don’t have to choose between setting goals and being in the present. I understand that these are not contradicting concepts. As a matter of fact you can’t set effective and purposeful goals unless you are fully in the present moment.
The author gives some practical exercises to build up your power my favorite ones are Master the First Hour and Worst First. I found that if I want to have a productive day then the way I start my day is highly important. I start my day with meditation and some exercise. This keeps me focused, positive and energetic throughout the day. When it comes to my “to do” list I tackle the difficult tasks at first instead of going for the easy ones. I save my favorite activities for later in the day or evening. For some reason this works for me and I accomplish all that I need to. As the author says, “Saving the best for last will give you something to look forward to, and you will find that your evenings are much more rewarding”.
Chapter four is about Oneness. This universal truth of oneness is the single most important concept that needs to be recognized by the people of this world. When we learn that we all are connected, we treat others as we treat ourselves. The more we become aware of the fact that we are not really separate from each other, less will be acts of violence and cruelty in the world. There are exercises given in this chapter that will help you develop the sense of oneness. Initially I only focused on the mental side of oneness but when I did these exercises I developed my emotional side as well. Before I knew and accepted the truth of oneness but now I am able to experience the joy that comes from being at one with the world or with the Universe for that matter.
The next chapter on Authority was an interesting one for me. I think authority is not one of my strongest points but this chapter gave me some very good suggestions to strengthen this quality in myself. I really had fun trying exercises given in this chapter. My favorite one is to Orchestrate Small Rebellions and I did orchestrate some and had a great time doing so. A word of caution, don’t do something which is against the law or will hurt someone. As the author says, “The idea here isn’t to behave like a complete jerk….Your assignment is simply to break the unwritten rules of social conformity, rules you aren’t required to obey but which you have been blindly following”.
Chapter six is on Courage. You must have courage if you want to rise above mediocrity and lead a successful life. Fear is the root of all failures. I suggest that you try all the exercises given in this chapter if you are lacking in this area. These exercises will build up your courage and will also indicate how you can find the path with a heart. This is the path that leads to true success, inner peace and a sense of fulfillment.
Chapter seven is on Intelligence. We all seek intelligence and wisdom. This chapter explains how combining truth, love and power lead to intelligence. What most of us don’t know is that we have an infinite source of inner wisdom. All we have to do is to recognize and appreciate it to bring it to the surface. You have to be conscious of this spiritual quality. If you want to do just that then you should go through the exercises given in this chapter. These exercises will greatly assist you to get in touch with your inner intelligence.
The second part of this book will help you to integrate the seven principles of truth, love, power, oneness, authority, courage and intelligence, in to all areas of your life like habits, career, money, health, relationships and spirituality.
Chapter seven is about Habits. It shows you how you can rid yourself of the unproductive habits and acquire new healthy and positive ones. I am already following some of the suggestions in this chapter. For example I have become a vegetarian for thirty days. I will let you know how it is going in my upcoming articles. The concept of 30-Day Trials is an interesting one. You can try something new for a month and at the end of it you can either keep or let go of it. For example for thirty days you can give up junk food or television, you can get up before sunrise; you can meditate and so on. When you read this chapter you will come across other techniques also that can be helpful in improving your habits for example stair-stepping, plug-ins, optimization and many more. Choose the ones that suit you.
The next chapter which is on Career is a practical one, though it goes deeper then, how to find a perfect job? This chapter will help you to identify “the path with a heart”, that is your ideal path to success, for the highest good to the greatest number. I highly recommend every one to try the exercise given under the heading of Career and Love on page 102. This powerful exercise will enable you to discover your Purpose in Life.
Chapter ten is about Money. Money is a touchy topic for some. We all have questions about it. How does money fits in with spirituality? Is money the root of all evil? Well money is neither good nor evil but it is a tool that we can use to do good or evil. The author says, “The only real limit on your income is how much social value you can create”. He talks about The Contributor Mind-set.If you are earning your living as a contributor then you not only create value for others but you will also attract abundance to yourself. If you are struggling financially or if you are confused about the issue of money then this chapter will provide you some useful information and clarity about this area of your life.
The next chapter which is on Health is not about what to do and what not to do to be healthy but it is all about how to let your intuition be your health guru. The author says, “While you can certainly connect with experts, the only true health guru in your life is you”. When you will align yourself with love, power, oneness and intelligence you will know how to manage your body and be healthy. For example my decision to go vegetarian is in alignment with oneness and love. I feel it is something that truly agrees with my real self. My intuition tells me that it is the right choice for me. It is not something that the author says that everyone must do but it is something that feels right to me.
Chapter twelve is about Relationships. In this chapter the author not only guides you to how to have deep and meaningful relationships but he also shares with you some of the challenges that he faced in his own relationship with his wife. He talks about how he with the help of his wife overcame those challenges, in a way that it strengthen their bond even more then before. Whether you are or aren’t satisfied with your current relationship, in either case this chapter will certainly give you some food for thought.
The last chapter in this book is about spirituality. This chapter will definitely strike a nerve with some people, especially those who are completely identified with a specific religion or a definite set of beliefs, people who regard their own religion as superior, who resist, fight and look down upon others who have different beliefs. For myself however this chapter is all what I already know, respect and passionate about. Though I honor the religion I am born in to, but I do not limit myself to it. I prefer to have an open mind, to explore and to learn more. The author says, “Find others with different belief systems that seem to empower them in some specific way, and learn from them. Find out why a Buddhist monk seems so calm, why an athlete can maintain such a high fitness level, or why a billionaire is able to enjoy so much financial abundance….Find out what makes them tick”. I couldn’t agree more. People who make a definite belief system their identity make their life unnecessarily hard. Your religion or spiritual beliefs should integrate all areas of your life including your health (both mental and physical), finances and relationships. If you feel powerless, depressed or angry, if you depend on others or situations for your happiness, if your life is not what you want it to be then it is time to re think your beliefs and seek the truth. There is only one place where you will find the truth and that is within yourself. You will need your inner power in order to discover it and Personal Development for Smart People In the words of Steve Pavlina, “I intend to help you embrace your true power and face your fears. Sometimes that means I’ll be encouraging and supportive; other times it means I must challenge you. Applying what you learn from this book won’t be easy for you. It hasn’t been easy for me, either. Real conscious growth is seldom undemanding, but it’s always worthwhile”.
Vegetarian for Thirty Days >
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were not all that high. The reason being Steve Pavlina has already written more then seven hundred articles on various topics related to personal development for his website, so I thought what more could he possibly add to what he has already written before. However I must admit I was wrong, he has plenty more to say. His book isn’t a repetition of his articles, though at times he does give reference to his articles but that’s purely for the benefit of the readers, if they want some supplementary information.
