Why Too Much Personal Development Will Make You Miserable

(Podcast at the bottom)

Ever felt extremely overwhelmed from all the personal growth you have to do?

Maybe you have training opportunities with your company, events, courses, books, and then on top of that, you have a family and all these competing priorities!

After all, you hear quotes like:

"Your income always follow your level of personal growth." 

or

"If you want to earn more, learn more."

So you keep getting it pounded into your head that you have to keep on learning.

And while it's true that the learning NEVER stops, so many people mistake this for something completely different.

You Suffer From P.D.P.

Personal Development Paralysis. 

Today we’re gonna focus on how you can break through it, so you don’t have to feel it!

A couple of things are going on here:

1.) Perfectionistic Tendencies

If you feel complete WHEN you get to the end of the book or WHEN you complete the online course, then you’re just gonna try and rush through to get as many modules or lessons done as you can.

You feel like you aren’t succeeding until you complete a lesson or program. If that’s you, you’re setting your bar extremely low.

Perfection is the lowest possible standard, you could have for yourself.

If you invest in ANY book, course, or seminar, you’ll quickly realize that the first time you read something shouldn’t be the last time you consume it. Instead of reading a book 1x through and then getting the next one as quick as you can, you should focus on a few pieces of personal growth content done over and over again.

Find fulfillment in what you learn instead of what you complete. Let go of that death grip on perfection and stop focusing on getting the next thing done.

You’re overwhelmed by the amount of personal growth you’re doing because you’re missing the entire point of personal growth: To GROW

Not just to read or listen. So focus on learning what you can in the time that you have. If you can get through one page, AWESOME. If you get through one lesson, AWESOME. It doesn't matter. What matters is what you take away from that page or lesson. 

2.) Attachment

You’re so focused on finding the answer to your problem that you race through things because you think that you can’t be happy until you get to your goals. And you equate learning to achievement. Not true. 

Knowledge isn't power. Knowledge is only POTENTIAL power. 

You won’t be satisfied when you get to your goals if you aren’t happy before you get to your goals.

Even if you do achieve, it’ll feel hollow. You always think that your answer will be in the next piece of content that you read. And that’s false. The answer is in the journey you’re on right now. The answer is how you grow when presented with the opportunity. So realize that searching every book possible for the answer is actually gonna slow you down. 

Let’s just sum up this entire podcast into ONE sentence:

Your life and income follow the DEPTH of your personal growth. NOT your quantity of personal growth.

Just because you sign up for a 52-book challenge doesn’t mean you’re going to grow into the next level of yourself. Most people can’t comprehend a book per week. I tried to. And I found that I was just reading just to read. I lost sight of what personal growth is for.

You are doing personal development so you can learn and grow into a higher version of yourself so you can achieve more, become more, and most importantly SERVE more.

Are you looking for a magic pill? 

Are you trying to read your books and listen to your audio tapes because you think that if you get to the end, you’ll have the result you’re craving? If so, you need to rethink that strategy.

Same thing with your business. Just because you started an online business doesn’t mean that you deserve a high income.

Just because you sign up for my online course, Appreciation Academy doesn’t mean that you’re going to be automatically happy.

You need to grow. And growth requires some challenges, time, effort. Think of why a weight lifter goes into the gym. They put massive pressure on their muscles, and it burns They rip those muscle fibers so they can come back stronger than they used to be.

Can you imagine if a bodybuilder walked into the gym and tried to rush through his or her workout? Not NEARLY as good of results.

Do you need to invest your time and your money into your growth? Absolutely. It’s a must. Whenever you’re in the car, put on "drive-time university." Flooding your mind with good thoughts and ideas is a wonderful strategy. 

Growth MUST be intentional.

You need time to sit down and really listen, read and take notes. Your life and income follow the DEPTH of your personal growth. NOT your quantity of personal growth.

You'll get exponentially more out of reading 1 page of a book today, then sitting down and applying it to your life than versus if you fly through a chapter just to read a chapter.

Trust me, I lived this. If you just rush through your PD time just to check it off the list, you won’t feel connected with what you learn, and that’s where you find yourself really inspired with huge dreams and ZERO results to show for it.

When you complete a book or complete a course, that should NOT be the last time you read that book or take that course. When you genuinely grow, you’ll elevate your life to the next level. If you retake that course, or reread that book as a higher level of yourself, you’re gonna pick up on so much more.

This is why I keep going back to the same conferences.

This is why I keep reading the same few books over and over again.

Each time I come back, I learn something new. So instead of focusing on reading 52 new books a year, what if you pick 3 that you cycle through a few times?

One page with self-reflection > A whole book with zero reflection. 

Becoming the next level of yourself takes effort. It takes intentionality. It takes patience.

This post is short for a reason. Instead of just reading a long blog post and going about your day, spend less time with me today and focus on what you can get out of this.

Take out your notebook right now. Jot down the one or two things that really stuck out to you. Ask yourself how you can apply this to your life and your business. Spend similar time reflecting as you do reading.

The game will change. You’ll no longer feel like you have these big dreams, with no action to follow. You’ll have aha moments that change your life.

Your income follows the DEPTH of your personal growth. Not the quantity. Focus on being present while doing your growth instead of just getting it done. 

Thank you so much for reading today! It’s a privilege to serve you. And make sure you SHARE this post on your social media if you think it can help someone else today!

With love,
Brad