How to Avoid False Starts and Progress Fast: Part 1

This guest post has been written by InspiredRobin.

Some people begin something but never really get started. Confused? The chances are high that you've already started your journey on a road of personal development and self improvement. That's the good news. The not-so-good news is that many people begin personal development and, well, become professional starters. You know the type. They're just "getting back into it."

You know that really great, life changing book? The professional starter knows about it too. Actually, they even started reading it. Unfortunately, they never quite finished... but they'll be quick to point out that "Oh, it's a good book!"

It can be a sad view from the outside. But from the afflicted person's viewpoint they might not know there is a problem at hand. Or if they do know there is a problem they might not know how to overcome it. That's why it's important that you learn how to start personal development sooner than later, even if you've already "started."

What's The Problem?

So, you've either started a self improvement trek or you're thinking about it. Essentially, everyone falls into needing to know how to start. Some people get right into it. Then there are those who are about to start. But it's come to me from being involved in personal development for about two years now that many, if not most people never even get started. What's the problem?

People don't start their journey and "just do it" for a number of reasons. Fear is a really, really big reason. With that said, we all have feelings of fear. But a fearless person is simply a person who feels their fear and moves through it anyways.

Another reason people don't start their personal development program is because of uncertainty. The need for certainty is probably just a form of procrastination, but dissecting it down to the core is unnecessary and a distraction. What's important is to recognize that the entire idea of certainty is an illusion. If we really looked at certainty in our lives, we would see that it is nearly nonexistent. From the food we eat to the next breath we take, all of us exhibit an incredible amount of faith that things in life just go on without being certain that they will continue to do so.

Finally, I would say that the third and last major reason that people fail to start a successful journey toward reaching the best version of themselves is because they lack necessary information. This one is pretty simple. If you don't know you can improve yourself, will you ever try? I used to think I just wasn't good at remembering names. It seemed harmless enough to live with that negative trait. But it wasn't necessary, and I learned that I could change it. I'd guess over 95% of the people today live with the disempowering attitude that they really can't change much about themselves. Fortunately for you, a lack of information will definitely not be your problem after reading this article!

Making Personal Development Happen

Now that we've established what holds people back, let's shift our focus to what you can do to use personal development resources to change your life in the shortest amount of time possible.

Accept uncertainty and accept making mistakes. One of the great quotes I've ever heard was from Tom Watson who said, "If you want to increase your success rate, double your failure rate." This sentiment is so fundamentally true and obvious that most people discount it. Some people just discount it because they hate the idea of failure. The reality is, your future has a lot of failures in it, just like everyone else. The difference is, however, how many successes you can parlay those failures into.

Going along with Watson's failure quote, there is another maxim I like to apply. It goes, "If something is worth doing, it's worth doing badly at first." If you can really buy into this then you'll find it has incredible power to move you toward action. After all, it just helps to demonstrate the idea that making mistakes is acceptable, and it unequivocally shows that one is taking action.