The Law of Attraction is a Dangerous Delusion

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Posted on 31st March 2010 by Paul Sloane in Lifestyle |Productivity


One of the biggest bandwagons that has rolled through the self-help community in recent years is the so-called Law of Attraction (LoA). This claims that you attract into your life whatever you think about.  Before I explain why I believe that this is not a law, not true, and not helpful, let me differentiate the LoA from some associated but different self-help concepts that actually do work.

1.  Positive Thinking. There is considerable evidence that having a positive, optimistic, can-do frame of mind will lead to much better outcomes in many circumstances than having a negative, pessimistic or cynical approach.  Studies show that positive thinkers generally do better, live longer, and are healthier and happier than negative thinkers.

2.  Focus, Goal Setting and Planning. There are many benefits in having a clear focus on what you want to achieve, in setting goals, in measuring progress against those goals and in taking corrective actions when you fall short.  Many successful people base their day on having an action plan that they work through.

3.  Visualization. Visualising a successful action can assist you to achieve it.  If you are nervous about making a speech then visualizing yourself giving a confident, dynamic performance will help you to do just that.  Visualising a great golf swing or a good tennis backhand stroke can help supplement your training and practice.

4.  Self-Belief. Most successful people have enormous self-belief.  They know that they have something special to offer and that they can achieve great things.  They use this self-belief as the basis on which to build the plans, improvements, learnings and actions that lead to success.

5.  An Attitude of Gratitude. Most of us have a great deal to be thankful for.  Counting our blessings and giving thanks help us to get our difficulties into perspective and engender a positive frame of mind.

So having listed those self-help mantras that actually work let us turn to the big idea that does not.  The Law of Attraction as expounded by Bob Proctor, by Rhonda Byrne in her best-selling book, The Secret, and by her many followers claims that all you need to do is to think about the things that you want in your life and the ‘Universe’ will supply them in abundance – whether they are positive or negative.   So if you think about money you will get money; if you focus on your debts you will stay in debt.   If you think about being slim you will become slim whereas if you constantly worry about how fat you are you will stay fat.   Unfortunately for the proponents of this ‘law’ there is no scientific evidence to support it.  There are plenty of anecdotes from people who believe the law worked for them but for each of these stories there are many other possible explanations.   No one has carried out a controlled experiment showing that the so-called law actually works.

Furthermore the law runs up against some very practical difficulties.  What if several people all want the same promotion and think about it furiously?  How can they all get the same post?  The law implies that whatever difficulties you have in life are the result of you thinking the wrong thoughts.  So it appears that an abused child, a rape victim or a prisoner in a concentration camp was somehow to blame because they thought negative thoughts.  This is offensive to victims and flies in the face of common sense.

According to the LoA if I want to win the gold medal in the 100 metres in the next Olympic Games or become President of the USA or get Jennifer Lopez as my girlfriend then all I have to do is think about my goal and it will come to me.  If we want a cure for cancer then we should stop spending money on research and just think about it instead.

The appeal of the LoA lies in its lazy proposition.  You do not need hard work and discipline to lose weight or get rich – you can do it by thinking.  Unfortunately this just is not true.   The LoA is delusional.  It is dangerous because it misleads people into believing that imagery alone will work without action.   To succeed in life you need things like talent, diligence, persistence, skills, hard-work and maybe a little luck.  You can achieve great things – but in order to do so you have to do a lot more than just think about them.

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Paul Sloane is an author and speaker on leadership, innovation and lateral thinking. His most recent book is The Innovative Leader. He helps organizations improve innovation, creativity and leadership. He is the founder of Destination Innovation. He has written 15 books of lateral thinking puzzles and hosts the lateral puzzles forum.Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/PaulSloane.

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Capturing Your Learning

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Posted on 30th March 2010 by Race Bannon in Learning Tips

One of the challenges self educators, indeed all learners, have is capturing their learning in some manner so that they can easily reference it later. Let’s face it, we can’t possibly remember everything we learn, at least not in detail. You might want to remember key ideas you’ve learned, refer to a quote you recall but can’t quite remember exactly, or find the title of a book you read years ago. There might be many reasons why you’d like to capture such information, and more, about what you learn.

The trick is to keep things simple. Yes, there are various notes and database applications that some people use to capture such information, but I find them overkill for what’s really needed most of the time. And I try to keep the necessity of learning new software applications to a minimum. So here’s my advice.

Create a simple word processing document for each subject area you’re learning about. I call these documents Learning Notes. Feel free to break down your learning notes documents into specific topics of a larger subject area. For example, let’s say the subject area is Software, but the specific software you’re currently learning about is the open source office productivity suite, Open Office (the office suite I use). In this case, it would probably make sense to create a separate learning notes document for Open Office rather than what would eventually end up being a very large document for all of the software you might learn over time. You’re better off with many smaller documents than a few large ones. It will make finding the information in the future much easier.

Once you create the learning notes document, don’t be too concerned with how you format the contents. Do whatever works for you. Keep it simple. The simpler you keep it, the more likely you’ll use it. My learning notes documents are comprised of plain text with a few bolded headings to organize things. That’s it. Name your documents clearly for easy finding later. For example, I named my Open Office learning notes document Open Office Learning Notes. That’s pretty clear and easy to find later.

So what might such a learning notes document contain? Here are some ideas. Remember, these are just examples. Feel free to create your own learning notes document sections.

  • Key Ideas and Concepts. Encapsulate the major ideas and concepts you’ve learned into a few bullet points. We tend to hang our learning on the big ideas that form the foundation of most subject areas. Identify them and capture them.
  • Notes. Write down any notes you want to capture. Don’t worry about organizing them too carefully. The important thing is to note anything you find of interest, new insights, interesting information, or whatever strikes you as important.
  • Reading. List books, articles, blogs, websites and other material you’ve read. You might want to reference these again in the future. So also include where you can  find them again (your personal bookshelf library, your digital library, your local library, and so on).
  • References. Include the URLs of websites you might want to reference in the future or other reference material you have (and where it’s stored or located).
  • Images. If you want to capture images you see online, get yourself a free, open source screen capture utility (or use your operating system’s capture capabilities if it has them) and paste the image into your learning notes document along with a brief annotation about the image. Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words!

Store your learning notes documents in a logical folder structure on your computer. I have a high-level folder called Library in which I store all of my digital ebooks, articles and other digital documents. Under the Library folder I have a Learning Notes folder and within that folder I have sub-folders by subject area. Use your own structure. Just make sure it’s easy to understand and access when you see it.

There is great power in these learning notes documents. You’ll be surprised at how often, over time, you’ll refer back to them, or add to or revise them, as you continue down your path of self education.

7 Effective Ways To De-Junk Your Life

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Posted on 30th March 2010 by Seth Simonds in Featured |Lifestyle |Productivity


If you purge your life of random belongings, bad habits, and unsatisfying relationships you’ll be left with something scary: time and space. What you do with all the extra time and space in your life after putting these tips into action is something we can discuss in the comments.

Better yet, I’ll grab a bunch of readers and we’ll swing by your house to help you clean out this evening. Fun idea, right? Too soon? Okay. Pick one of the following and see where it takes you. It’s time to de-junk your life!

1. Say something honest every day

Lies are rubbish. You don’t need them in your life. You might find some justification to lie to others but that justification only comes after a lie to yourself about the importance of truth. What to do? Take something you were planning on talking about already and be honest in your conversation. Being honest is a lot like lying in that it gets easier with practice.

2. Make a list of 7 things you can’t replace

You can start the next meme on Facebook with this if you like. No matter what it takes to get you started, the important thing is that you take the time to figure out what stuff really matters to you. Writing down the things you’d escape a house fire with will help you look at the things you’ve surrounded yourself with in a different way. Do you really need that inflatable killer whale? Do you actually play that piano? What you do once you’ve prioritized your stuff is up to you. My experience says that you’ll probably get rid of some junk as a result.

3. Make a list of 5 people you can’t live without

This isn’t a list you should publicize unless you want to deal with hurt feelings from your greater social group. Keep it private but make your resulting actions tangible and as public as needed for them to count. If you like, continue your list with a relationship maintenance schedule. Stop kidding yourself about the value of spontaneity and make sure you’re actually keeping in touch with the people who matter to you. You already use Facebook to keep track of birthdays. No excuses.

4. Move into a smaller home

This is simple. If your couch won’t fit in the new place, you can’t take it with you. Smaller spaces have a way of reminding us that open areas actually are important and should be preserved. The moving process itself should help get rid of some of your junk. If it doesn’t, you’ll be faced with all your extra things on a daily basis until you take care of them.

5. Become a vegan for 3 months

Jump off the fast food train for a few months and try the world of vegan cuisine. I don’t suggest this because I think the world should be vegan but because I’ve seen what a dramatic change in diet can do to your perspective on life. When you avoid animal products you turn your back on a lot of the processed junk we accept as food. Give yourself a chance to discover new foods, different recipes, and find new ways to respond to feeling hungry. After 3 months? You might return to eating animal products but you’ll never be able to go back all the way. I’m glad I didn’t.

6. Quit your job

You don’t have to actually quit your job for this to work. Just pretend you’ve quit and map out your next few steps. Will you change careers, go back to school, move to a difference city, or something else? For most of us, our job is the biggest deciding factor in what we do with our lives. It’s how we make our money and what we spend most of our time doing. So what would you do if you no longer had your job? Start planning. You might be surprisingly thrilled at what you discover.

7. Train for an endurance race

I’m a chubby dude so the reality of running a 50-mile race is still quite far in the future. That doesn’t mean I don’t get a huge amount of value from the process though. With every mile I’m reminded of all the junk I once ate and am inspired to get leaner and faster. For now, it’s not about speed. It’s about picking a distance and completing it without stopping. Those successes carry over into every other part of my life as I face new challenges and make daily choices about what I’ll allow to take up my time. If you have a friend who trains regularly, ask them to tell you about the stress relief that endurance training provides. It continues to amaze me how much mental junk disappears during a workout. Try it!

What do you do to de-junk your life? Do you have a tried and true process that allows you to keep your house clear of clutter and your mind free to create? The process of de-junking can be arduous and downright scary at times. I’m still in the thick of it as I write this but I’ve got a long string of successes to look back on and remind myself that I can get through today’s challenges just as I have those in the past. Can you say the same for yourself? If not, grab one of the tips I shared or one from a commenter and see if you can create a success story for yourself. We’ll be here to celebrate your win!

image

Follow Lifehack on Twitter here.

I'm an editor here at Stepcase Lifehack. I know the value of long walks, good books, joyful repartee, and a well-made martini. Say hello in the comments here, find me on my blog or hit me up for a follow on Twitter.

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7 Effective Ways To De-Junk Your Life

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Posted on 30th March 2010 by Seth Simonds in Featured |Lifestyle |Productivity


If you purge your life of random belongings, bad habits, and unsatisfying relationships you’ll be left with something scary: time and space. What you do with all the extra time and space in your life after putting these tips into action is something we can discuss in the comments.

Better yet, I’ll grab a bunch of readers and we’ll swing by your house to help you clean out this evening. Fun idea, right? Too soon? Okay. Pick one of the following and see where it takes you. It’s time to de-junk your life!

1. Say something honest every day

Lies are rubbish. You don’t need them in your life. You might find some justification to lie to others but that justification only comes after a lie to yourself about the importance of truth. What to do? Take something you were planning on talking about already and be honest in your conversation. Being honest is a lot like lying in that it gets easier with practice.

2. Make a list of 7 things you can’t replace

You can start the next meme on Facebook with this if you like. No matter what it takes to get you started, the important thing is that you take the time to figure out what stuff really matters to you. Writing down the things you’d escape a house fire with will help you look at the things you’ve surrounded yourself with in a different way. Do you really need that inflatable killer whale? Do you actually play that piano? What you do once you’ve prioritized your stuff is up to you. My experience says that you’ll probably get rid of some junk as a result.

3. Make a list of 5 people you can’t live without

This isn’t a list you should publicize unless you want to deal with hurt feelings from your greater social group. Keep it private but make your resulting actions tangible and as public as needed for them to count. If you like, continue your list with a relationship maintenance schedule. Stop kidding yourself about the value of spontaneity and make sure you’re actually keeping in touch with the people who matter to you. You already use Facebook to keep track of birthdays. No excuses.

4. Move into a smaller home

This is simple. If your couch won’t fit in the new place, you can’t take it with you. Smaller spaces have a way of reminding us that open areas actually are important and should be preserved. The moving process itself should help get rid of some of your junk. If it doesn’t, you’ll be faced with all your extra things on a daily basis until you take care of them.

5. Become a vegan for 3 months

Jump off the fast food train for a few months and try the world of vegan cuisine. I don’t suggest this because I think the world should be vegan but because I’ve seen what a dramatic change in diet can do to your perspective on life. When you avoid animal products you turn your back on a lot of the processed junk we accept as food. Give yourself a chance to discover new foods, different recipes, and find new ways to respond to feeling hungry. After 3 months? You might return to eating animal products but you’ll never be able to go back all the way. I’m glad I didn’t.

6. Quit your job

You don’t have to actually quit your job for this to work. Just pretend you’ve quit and map out your next few steps. Will you change careers, go back to school, move to a difference city, or something else? For most of us, our job is the biggest deciding factor in what we do with our lives. It’s how we make our money and what we spend most of our time doing. So what would you do if you no longer had your job? Start planning. You might be surprisingly thrilled at what you discover.

7. Train for an endurance race

I’m a chubby dude so the reality of running a 50-mile race is still quite far in the future. That doesn’t mean I don’t get a huge amount of value from the process though. With every mile I’m reminded of all the junk I once ate and am inspired to get leaner and faster. For now, it’s not about speed. It’s about picking a distance and completing it without stopping. Those successes carry over into every other part of my life as I face new challenges and make daily choices about what I’ll allow to take up my time. If you have a friend who trains regularly, ask them to tell you about the stress relief that endurance training provides. It continues to amaze me how much mental junk disappears during a workout. Try it!

What do you do to de-junk your life? Do you have a tried and true process that allows you to keep your house clear of clutter and your mind free to create? The process of de-junking can be arduous and downright scary at times. I’m still in the thick of it as I write this but I’ve got a long string of successes to look back on and remind myself that I can get through today’s challenges just as I have those in the past. Can you say the same for yourself? If not, grab one of the tips I shared or one from a commenter and see if you can create a success story for yourself. We’ll be here to celebrate your win!

image

Follow Lifehack on Twitter here.

I'm an editor here at Stepcase Lifehack. I know the value of long walks, good books, joyful repartee, and a well-made martini. Say hello in the comments here, find me on my blog or hit me up for a follow on Twitter.

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Be More Productive Online With 7 Google Chrome Start Page Extensions

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Posted on 29th March 2010 by Sid Savara in Featured |Productivity |howto


What’s the first thing you do when you start up your web browser? If you’re like me, you’ll see a number of tabs from the last time you were browsing. Or perhaps a single homepage.  Many of us take the time to customize these options, because we have certain preferences for what we like to see when we first get down to browsing.

Now let me ask you another question – what do you see when you open a new tab? Many people don’t customize this, and see the default that comes with their browser. The Google Chrome Default New Tab “Speed Dial” Page is nice, and I personally prefer it to having a blank new tab (which was what I had for a long time with Firefox).  However, I wasn’t completely satisfied with it – so I went looking for different options to customize it.

In this article, I’ll show you some different extensions to customize your new tab/start page – as well as reveal to you my personal favorite.

Empty New Tab Page

  • What Does It Do? Replaces your chrome default new tab with a totally blank page.
  • Why Is It Cool? Don’t want everyone to see your speed dial page?  Constantly tempted with your  favorite websites when you’re working? Go back to the good old days of blank tabs.
  • Where Can I Get It? Check it out, Empty New Tab Page.

New Tab With Google Tasks

  • What Does It Do? Replaces your chrome default new tab with your Google Tasks.
  • Why Is It Cool? Need regular reminder for what you have to work on?  Check out this extension, and you’ll see your tasks all the time.
  • Where Can I Get It? Check it out here: New Tab To Tasks.

New Tab With Clock

  • What Does It Do? Replaces your chrome default new tab with a page showing just the time, or the time and the current project you are working on.
  • Why Is It Cool? Never lose track of time mindlessly web browsing again! You’ll constantly be reminded what time it is.
  • Where Can I Get It? Comes in two varieties, the simple one you see above:  New Tab with Clock and New Tab With Clock and Current Project Entry (which includes a text box for a single task or project you are working on).

New Tab Favorites

  • What does it do? New Tab Favorites replaces the chrome default new tab with a page listing your selection of websites.
  • Why Is It Cool? You can easily manage the list to fit it to your own needs.  You may be able to do this with the regular Google Chrome page, but some may prefer the interface of this extension.
  • Where Can I Get It? Check it out here: New Tab Favorites.

Fav4 New Tab Page

  • What Does It Do? A beautiful, simple new tab that shows large icons for 4 sites that you specify.
  • Why Is It Cool? Most of us visit the same websites over and over. This provides a simple way to navigate to those common websites, and you can even use keyboard shortcuts (1,2,3,4).  Did I mention it looks great?
  • Where Can I Get It? Check it out here, Fav4 New Tab Page.

Incredible StartPage – Productive Start Page for Chrome

  • What Does It Do? A beautifully designed, powerful start page featuring your bookmarks, recently closed tabs, and even a little area to leave yourself notes.
  • Why Is It Cool? Contains the most options of any start page I’ve seen, and looks great to boot. Currently my favorite start page.
  • Where Can I Get It? Check it out here, Incredible Start Page.

Things To Do

  • What Does It Do? A simple extension that replaces the new tab page with a to do list. Add it and watch your productivity soar!
  • Why Is It Cool? No fancy graphics or widgets to distract you, this intuitively designed start page helps keep you on task.  This is the start page I used for a long time, to help me keep track of short term tasks as I was browsing/researching.
  • Where Can I Get It? Check it out here, Things To Do.

Customize Your New Tab to Any Page

There are a variety of start pages out there, and you may prefer to set your new tab page to something else entirely.  There are a number of different options for that, you can check some of these out to find one you like:

What Do You Think?

What are your thoughts? Do you care about what your new tab shows? Any extensions or options you’d like to share?

Sid Savara is a a lifehacking fanatic. Visit Sid's website for more information about how to get motivated and analysis driven personal development. Sign up for his newsletter and pick up a copy of his free motivational quotes book, The Little Book Of Big Motivational Quotes.

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Lifehack 5-Day Early Riser Challenge Final

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Posted on 26th March 2010 by Seth Simonds in Featured


This past Sunday, more than 100 readers decided to try waking up early for the next 5 days. Over the course of the week we heard from many of them as they shared their triumphs and failures through comments and posts on their blogs.

One of the things that most impressed me about this entire week was the amazing amount of support and kindness you showed to each other. You might have been tempted to be snarky and short with each other, but you never were. You were there for each other this week and that gives me hope for the future of online interactions in general, not just the cool things we’ll be doing here at Lifehack. Thank you!

You can see each of the week’s articles here:

  1. Lifehack Challenge: Become an early riser in 5 days
  2. 5 Tips For Becoming An Early Riser
  3. Do you have a morning ritual?
  4. 9 Tips for better sleep
  5. Do you have a strange sleep habit?

This is it. The final day! Did you make it through all 5 mornings? How has your perspective on morning productivity changed as a result of this challenge? Will you continue waking early or was there not enough value in the schedule change to warrant continuation?

Do you have an idea for the next 5-day challenge?

I look forward to reading your thoughts! Also, if you’re planning on continuing the challenge for a few more days on your own blog, please let me know so I can link to it here? There are some late-arrivals to the challenge that would benefit from the continued support of daily posts. Thanks!

image

I'm an editor here at Stepcase Lifehack. I know the value of long walks, good books, joyful repartee, and a well-made martini. Say hello in the comments here, find me on my blog or hit me up for a follow on Twitter.

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Lifehack 5-Day Early Riser Challenge Final

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Posted on 26th March 2010 by Seth Simonds in Featured


This past Sunday, more than 100 readers decided to try waking up early for the next 5 days. Over the course of the week we heard from many of them as they shared their triumphs and failures through comments and posts on their blogs.

One of the things that most impressed me about this entire week was the amazing amount of support and kindness you showed to each other. You might have been tempted to be snarky and short with each other, but you never were. You were there for each other this week and that gives me hope for the future of online interactions in general, not just the cool things we’ll be doing here at Lifehack. Thank you!

You can see each of the week’s articles here:

  1. Lifehack Challenge: Become an early riser in 5 days
  2. 5 Tips For Becoming An Early Riser
  3. Do you have a morning ritual?
  4. 9 Tips for better sleep
  5. Do you have a strange sleep habit?

This is it. The final day! Did you make it through all 5 mornings? How has your perspective on morning productivity changed as a result of this challenge? Will you continue waking early or was there not enough value in the schedule change to warrant continuation?

Do you have an idea for the next 5-day challenge?

I look forward to reading your thoughts! Also, if you’re planning on continuing the challenge for a few more days on your own blog, please let me know so I can link to it here? There are some late-arrivals to the challenge that would benefit from the continued support of daily posts. Thanks!

image

I'm an editor here at Stepcase Lifehack. I know the value of long walks, good books, joyful repartee, and a well-made martini. Say hello in the comments here, find me on my blog or hit me up for a follow on Twitter.

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SelfMadeScholar.com

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Posted on 25th March 2010 by Race Bannon in Learning Resources

Today I want to encourage every self educator to visit Self Made Scholar. Jamie Littlefield’s great blog and accompanying learning resources make Self Made Scholar a site worthy of bookmarking and visiting repeatedly.

There aren’t currently a lot of recent blog posts, but that doesn’t diminish the tremendous usefulness of the site or the relevancy of the blog entries that are posted.

Pay particular attention to the many links that Jamie provides. This site is one of those online starting points for self educators as they browse for information to improve their self education experience.

Do you have a favorite online learning resource? If so, please contact me or add a comment to this post.

Do You Have A Strange Sleep Habit?

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Posted on 25th March 2010 by Seth Simonds in Featured


This article is the 5th in the 6-part series, Lifehack Challenge: Become An Early Riser In 5 Days. If you’d like to join, leave a comment that includes your promised wake-up time. The hard part is actually getting out of bed!

Do you have a strange sleep habit? Perhaps you like to eat cheese right before bed, sleep with all the lights on, or put a pillow beneath your feet instead of your head?

There’s a reason for my asking this beyond the sheer enjoyment we’ll all get from reading your confession. Namely, that you may find it helpful to view your entire rest-wake cycle holistically and not put all your effort into dragging yourself out of bed at a certain time each morning.

Of course, this IS your week to rise early, but then what? You signed up to try and become an early riser not because you want to sleep less but because you want to do more. You want to experience more of your life as a well-rested individual who has an idea of when it’s time to sleep and when it’s time to celebrate (or, in most of our cases, work).

So how will you make your new habit stick and help you view your sleep differently?

  • Get some friends involved – Many of you found value in this challenge because you knew you weren’t the only one trying something new. Take that knowledge home with you and find some close friends who will help you keep your habit going. Perhaps you met somebody through this challenge who will keep you on track?
  • Embrace the idiosyncrasies of your schedule – You’re going to have weird days and odd things that help you sleep when you’re feeling stressed. The important thing is that you figure out what works best for you and act upon that knowledge on a regular basis. If you need another challenge in a few months to get you back on track, just say the word!
  • Don’t let becoming an early riser be the last thing you change this year – Now that you’re proving to yourself and those around you that you can change in ways you want, keep that train moving! Decide on something else you’d like to change, map your path to success, and push for it!

If you have an idea for a future challenge, let me know. Otherwise, it’s your turn to check in with the scoop on what makes your sleep different from any other’s. This has been a great challenge so far. Thanks for your participation and encouragement you’ve been giving to each other. That’s what makes this work so well. That’s what will help so many of you change in ways you want to. Let’s keep this going!

Image: source

I'm an editor here at Stepcase Lifehack. I know the value of long walks, good books, joyful repartee, and a well-made martini. Say hello in the comments here, find me on my blog or hit me up for a follow on Twitter.

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What Do You Need To Let Go Of?

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Posted on 25th March 2010 by Craig Harper in Featured |Lifestyle |learning |personal-development


I like the concept of letting go. It’s mostly where I find joy, calm, peace and purpose. It’s so much easier than chasing. And so much more effective. Rather than chasing happiness, the Buddhist philosophy suggests that we simply choose to let go of that which makes us unhappy. The very notion of chasing something has a sense of urgency about it, doesn’t it? And, of course, with urgency comes anxiety. And with anxiety comes illness. And with illness comes unhappiness.

Maybe our gentle robe-wearing friends are on to something. Some people spend their lives chasing acceptance and approval. Perhaps it’s time for some of us to let go of the need to seek the acceptance, approval and even permission of others? Perhaps we’re good enough all by ourselves? Perhaps we should stop giving away our power? Perhaps in the letting go we’ll find the only acceptance we need: self-acceptance. Some will spend their lives chasing physical perfection. I have some expertise in this area. While it’s great to be in shape, it’s not great when our confidence, self-esteem and sense of self are dependant on our physical appearance.

Considering that we spend most of our lives in a slowly deteriorating physical shell, this pursuit is an exercise in frustration. This desire for physical perfection arises out of fear. Fear of not being pretty enough. Good enough. Desirable enough. And, of course, fear is at the root of unhappiness. Some will spend their lives chasing financial wealth, only to wake up one day and discover that all they’ve created is emotional and spiritual poverty. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with being wealthy, except when that wealth defines us. If only we taught our kids (and ourselves) that being rich has nothing to do with money or material possessions. Some of us have spent years (and years) trying to ‘find’ ourselves.

Maybe it’s time to stop looking and simply let go of everything that isn’t us? When I let go of everything I am trying to do, be, create and own, there I am. And while I might do, be, create and own much in my life, I am none of those things and they are not me. I can’t be found in things. And neither can you.

What do you need to let go of?

Image: source

Craig Harper (B.Ex.Sci.) is a qualified exercise scientist, author, columnist, radio presenter, television host, motivational speaker and university lecturer. For the past 25 years he has been a leading presenter, educator, motivator and commentator in the areas of personal and professional development. You can visit Craig's blog at Motivational Speaker.FREE eBook – So… You’ve Decided to Get in Shape (Again) Craig's FREE eBook takes 20 – 30 minutes to read, and addresses the REAL getting-in-shape issues based on his 25 years of experience. To get Craig’s FREE eBook click here, weight loss books.

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