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Personal development idea: Setting limits on our expectations April 16, 2018

Posted by Dennis Mellersh in personal development ideas.
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When any of us are tempted to jump onto/into the latest self-help system for achieving our goals, we might want to bear in mind a phrase that advertisers of certain products and services sometimes use in the “small print” of their promotional material; a phrase  designed to provide to cover in case of consumer dissatisfaction.

The phrase, or one with equivalent meaning, is often used with products, systems, and services involving generic experiences of users or testimonials involving actual people who have successfully used the product, system, or service.

The phrase, or one like it, is of course…”your experience may differ.”

In the world of self-actualization effort, it’s natural to want to try the latest thing on offer, just like an artist wanting to try out a new line of paints, brushes, or drawing materials.

It just that we need to mentally give ourselves a “small print” warning that when we try something new after being convinced by the promotional material…

“Results shown are not typical. Your experience may differ.”

It’s also a heads-up that we should not be too hard on ourselves whenever we try something new in self-improvement and the results are less than we anticipated.

Dennis Mellersh

Personal growth: Doing what we want to do with our lives April 15, 2018

Posted by Dennis Mellersh in personal development ideas.
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There are advantages in resisting our impulses for instant gratification and opting instead for greater satisfaction at a later date, presumably because the eventual reward will be greater than the satisfaction we gain by giving in to current temptation.

Enjoy one cookie  now, or several cookies later.

Banks and other investment institutions tell us to save now – forgo that custom latte every morning, and other personal indulgences, put away the money not spent, and retire later in life with plenty of financial assets to really enjoy ourselves.

It’s sound advice, but…

In terms of personal development, if carried too far, this idea of sacrificing now, can rob us of genuine fulfillment as we move through the unfolding stages of our life.

At the extreme end of the choices scale, we might, for example, stick with a job we don’t like, working at something that doesn’t excite us in the slightest, instead of trying something new that we really care about.

Maybe sometimes, unless there are extenuating circumstances,  we need to be a little more adventurous.

And, speaking of what people can do with their lives…

There is an interesting series on the PBS NewsHour broadcast and website titled, Brief But Spectacular.

It consists of brief vignettes, usually just a little over three minutes in length, of various things people are doing that they are passionate about.

Here’s the link:

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/brief/