Personal growth: Too much thinking and not enough doing January 8, 2018
Posted by Dennis Mellersh in Goal Setting and Realization.Tags: achieving goals, inspiration, life, personal development planning, philosophy, psychology, self-actualization, setting goals, writing
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Although it’s generally a good idea not to jump into projects without giving them careful thought, it can be equally damaging to our self-development to over-study and miss opportunities for greater self-actualization by not taking timely action.
A similar, but slightly different variation of this problem can also occur in our efforts to develop our key long-term goals if we over-plan and under-act, thereby postponing doing the necessary goal-directed tasks.
As Shakespeare wrote in his play Julius Caesar:
“There is a tide in the affairs of men, which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune. Omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat. And we must take the current when it serves, or lose our ventures.”
Sometimes planning can be more enjoyable and appealing to us than the harder work of doing.
— Dennis Mellersh
Personal growth: How to keep New Year’s resolutions December 29, 2017
Posted by Dennis Mellersh in Personal Development Potential.Tags: achieving goals, life, personal development, personal development planning, personal growth, philosophy, psychology, self-actualization, writing
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Conventional wisdom in the world of self-improvement and self-actualization often tells us that will power is the key to achieving our goals in life. However, I just came across an article in the New York Times that makes a strong case for a more effective and sustainable approach for keeping our resolutions and achieving our long-term personal objectives.
In a column titled The Only Way to Keep Your Resolutions (1), David DeSteno (2) writes:
“We too often think about self-improvement and the pursuit of our goals in bracing, self-flagellating terms: I will do better, I will muscle through, I will wake up earlier. But it doesn’t need to be that way, and it shouldn’t: Self-control isn’t about feeling miserable. The research on self-control shows that willpower, for all its benefits, wanes over time.”
DeSteno argues that a better approach than sheer grit and will power lies in “increasing how much we value the future” and suggests that we can accomplish this better by developing our “social emotions.”
Here’s the link to his article:
(1) New York Times website, December 29, 2017
(2) David DeSteno, a professor of psychology at Northeastern University, is the author of the forthcoming book “Emotional Success: The Power of Gratitude, Compassion, and Pride.”
—Dennis Mellersh
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