I\u2019ve mentioned a few times that I\u2019m kind of a nerd for personal development, but I realized the other day that I’ve really never taken the time to explain it.<\/p>\n
The name doesn\u2019t exactly sell it well; I much prefer self-improvement. (Both are better than self-help, though.) I say \u201cnerd\u201d because there\u2019s nothing cool about it … \u201ctrying\u201d isn\u2019t looked upon so favorably by the masses who determine what\u2019s cool. But I\u2019d argue that reading or listening to something motivational, inspiring, or educational every single day is without a doubt the most important daily practice in my life.<\/p>\n
My nerddom is to the point that more than once (in the past year alone) I\u2019ve bought out-of-print cassette tape programs from the 1980\u2019s on ebay, and either listened to them on a boombox in my car (really) or converted them to MP3\u2019s. Which, I\u2019m told by some new<\/a> friends<\/a>, is lame because not only do people not listen to cassettes anymore, they also don\u2019t use ebay anymore.<\/p>\n But although I like to think the themes I learn from these books and tapes underlie my posts — those of taking responsibility<\/a>, dancing with fear<\/a>, thinking big<\/a>, persisting<\/a>, engineering habits<\/a> — I\u2019ve never written explicitly about personal development here. So that\u2019s what I\u2019m doing today.<\/p>\n For me, it\u2019s religion for the non-religious. When so many other messages that reach us are negative (hey, that\u2019s what gets our attention and holds it, hence what sells), I think I\u2019d be hopeless without a source of daily influence in the opposite direction.<\/p>\n Some people will argue that it\u2019s silly to strive for improvement and that we should instead strive to be content in the present moment, with the way we are. But in my experience, I\u2019m happy only when I\u2019m growing. And I don\u2019t think the two are mutually exclusive: I love reading about Zen philosophy and I\u2019m an on-again-off-again meditator. It provides a nice balance to the go-go-go mindset that personal development often promotes.<\/p>\n It\u2019s been 10 years (almost exactly) that I\u2019ve been into this stuff, and the other night I tried to put my finger on the key points I\u2019ve taken from it in that time. Interestingly but perhaps not surprisingly, there really aren\u2019t that many of them.<\/p>\n Certainly a quick list isn\u2019t going to have the same effect that drilling these messages into to your head for years does — for me it\u2019s mostly reading, but also by audio on the majority of my runs and every time I drive anywhere — but I hope this will at least serve as an introduction for someone who needs it.<\/p>\n Apologies in advance for any corniness here. Like I said, it\u2019s not exactly fashionable to try. But this stuff applies to diet, running, career, relationships \u2026 you name it.<\/p>\n Take responsibility.<\/strong> For everything you do, and even for everything that happens to you. It\u2019s immesely freeing.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t recoil from fear.<\/strong> Everyone who isn\u2019t bored out of their mind is afraid; some people just acknowledge the fear (or similar discomfort), put it in a box in their mind, and move forward. Often, it\u2019s a weathervane that tells you exactly what you need to do.<\/p>\n Think big and have written goals.<\/strong> It\u2019s such a cliche, but by simply asking more of life, you very often get it. I firmly believe you\u2019re more likely to achieve a big, scary stretch goal (that\u2019s so exciting you become obsessed with it), than more modest, \u201crealistic\u201d goal that you\u2019ll give up on at the first sign of adversity.<\/p>\n Small steps add up.<\/strong> We\u2019ve all seen two or three years go by in a heartbeat, and if you commit just a few minutes a day to making some improvement, it doesn\u2019t take long for it to accumulate. A lot of people object to starting small (or starting at all), because they say things like, \u201cBut by the time I go back to school \/ train for five years \/ change careers I\u2019ll already be 50.\u201d The answer is that you\u2019re going to be that age in five years no matter what you do, so why not go for it?<\/p>\n Don\u2019t overestimate other people\u2019s capabilities while underestimating your own.<\/strong> The impostor syndrome is so widespread that it\u2019s, well, a syndrome. Most other people, doing the things you want to do, started in the same place you\u2019re starting. There\u2019s this perception that everyone else \u201cout there\u201d is confident and fearless, and it\u2019s completely false. The good news: since just about everyone thinks this way, it really pays off when you learn not to.<\/p>\n Commit.<\/strong> Nothing happens without commitment. We like to dabble in things, quitting once they get difficult. The trick is to recognize at the outset that there\u2019s going to be a dip, and decide then (before you start) that you\u2019re willing to push through it. Otherwise, you\u2019re wasting your time. And, by the way, once you\u2019ve made the decision that you\u2019re not going to quit, it all gets easier. One of my favorite quotes comes from a Starbucks cup: \u201cThe irony of commitment is that it\u2019s deeply liberating.\u201d<\/p>\n Have faith. <\/strong>Like I said, religion for non-religious people. I’m not sure that faith is the best word to describe the only halfway-rational sense of “This is going to work, and even if it doesn’t, somehow things will work out for the best” with every project you dive into. But it’s the best word I’ve got for it.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a list of a few of my favorites. To make this list, I just wrote down all the personal development books or audio programs I\u2019ve read or listened to more than once.<\/strong> This doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019ll resonate with you the way they have with me, but it\u2019ll give you a jumping off point. (I’ve only put in links to the free stuff.)<\/p>\n And don’t forget podcasts! My friend Jeff Sanders has a good one, called the 5 AM Miracle<\/em><\/a>, and I like Tim Ferriss’ podcast<\/a> too (the Josh Waitzkin episode<\/a> is my favorite).<\/p>\n I realized as I was writing this list, as you probably did reading it, that there aren\u2019t any women authors on it. This isn\u2019t deliberate, and I\u2019ve really enjoyed personal development material from Jen Sincero<\/a>, Brene Brown<\/a>, and Nicole Antoinette<\/a>. (Marie Forleo and Danielle LaPorte are also superstars in the niche, but their stuff seems really aimed at women so I haven\u2019t checked it out.) I\u2019ve noticed that there\u2019s an extreme imbalance in the number of men who write about these topics compared to women, but I also sense that this is changing, as the women I mentioned above are all modern, while a lot of my list is older material.<\/p>\n I happen to be flying out tonight to a Tony Robbins seminar, the one where you walk across coals<\/a>. I\u2019ve been two times before, the first of which led to my going vegetarian and starting No Meat Athlete<\/a> a few days later. Say what you want about Tony, but I\u2019m an unabashed fan.<\/p>\n I have high expectations for the seminar, and I\u2019m just as excited to have completed, after this, my busiest month (and three-month stretch) of travel since my book tour last year. But I\u2019m not sure what\u2019s next for me or where I\u2019ll focus my energy when I get back. Certainly on writing far more than I have been (I mean, three weeks between posts?) but I\u2019m itching to get back to serious running too.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve thought a lot about doing another 100-miler over the winter, but my wife and I are thinking about a big change in the next few months that would preclude that (I\u2019ll let you know what it is once it\u2019s final). In the meantime, I\u2019m thinking about returning to marathons for a bit — I\u2019d still love to break 3 hours one day, but I know I’ve lost a lot of speed and that’s no small goal for me.<\/p>\n Which, of course, is where all this personal development stuff will come in handy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I\u2019ve mentioned a few times that I\u2019m kind of a nerd for personal development, but I realized the other day that I’ve really never taken the time to explain it. The name doesn\u2019t exactly sell it well; I much prefer self-improvement. (Both are better than self-help, though.) I say \u201cnerd\u201d because there\u2019s nothing cool about […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-23697","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-motivation","7":"entry"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nA 30-Second Argument for Personal Development<\/h3>\n
What I\u2019ve Learned from 10 Years of Personal Development<\/h3>\n
Where to Start<\/h3>\n
\n
What\u2019s Next for Me<\/h3>\n