How often do you see a good idea in a book and then proceed to do nothing about it? When that information is presented to you again, do you feel yourself saying, “I already learned this…”
The truth is you didn’t learn it then and you haven’t learned it now. This is because most people have a faulty idea about when they have actually learned something. You haven’t learned anything until you have put it into action. Learning doesn’t come from reading or listening. Learning comes from doing and being.
Many people make the mistake in assuming that because they have read a book about something, then they have actually learned it. While I think reading is probably one of the most profitable habits you can create for yourself, the truth is, reading doesn’t actually teach you very much. Reading creates ideas and opportunities, but it is the action that flows from these opportunities that creates true learning.
Someone who has read one book on personal development and tested and applied all the concepts in the book would have learned far more than someone who has simply read every personal development book on the planet but failed to try do anything. When you understand the distinction here you will also understand why you see people who have read tons of books from the self-help section of their bookstore and still don’t seem like they have any more control over their lives than when they started.
The truth is you aren’t learning anything reading this article right now. You aren’t learning anything reading any of the articles I have written previously and you won’t learn anything from any article I write in the future. All these articles can do is to give you ideas, tools and techniques to help guide and direct your learning. It is the doing that will actually facilitate it.
If we don’t really receive a lot of learning from reading, then why are personal development books and articles so popular?
First of all, I’d like to point out that personal development material is incredibly valuable. The only problem is when you mistake it with true learning. I’ve read a lot of books, but I understand that my true learning comes from the action I’ve taken from it. I consider the ideas I have gathered from books to be like tiny acorns from which the rain and sun of practice and action can turn into a forest.
Personal development doesn’t equate to reading personal development books. In fact the two activities aren’t even similar. When I’ve finished a book on time management I don’t sit back and compliment myself for how great my productivity is. Reading a book on health or fitness doesn’t make you healthy. Mistaking actual personal development with reading about it is a big problem.
Self-help book
