“You see, in life, lots of people know what to do, but few people actually do what they know. Knowing is not enough! You must take action.”
— Tony Robbins

For many years this was the way it was for me. I would read all these fantastic books on spirituality, health, wellness, etc. The academic in me would take it all in and I could happily report that I had read all these authors with their important messages of personal growth.

So why was my life such a mess? I knew it all, right?

Well, first off, I don’t believe we will ever truly know it all. There is so much to know out there. And it is constantly evolving. And secondly, I didn’t actually know this stuff since I wasn’t actually living it.

Get off the knowledge junkie path and start taking action with all the knowledge you have built up in your life. I do believe we have the knowledge inside each and everyone of us for living to our highest potential if we would just do what we already know.

“For every person who wants to teach there are approximately thirty people who don’t want to learn — much.”
— W.C. Sellar and R.J. Yeatman, And Now All This (1932) introduction

How many of you want to grow? And what is growing? Is staying the same a part of growing? Or does the actual word “growing” imply change? The thing is, you are only going to grow if you are uncomfortable — by stepping out of your comfort zone and doing things that are different from what you are doing right now.

So what is holding you back from growing? The number one phrase that will keep you exactly the way you are is, “I know that”. But do you really “know” it? Or have you heard about it, talked about it, read about it. You only really “know” it if you are living it.

I repeat, you only know it if you are living it.

So take a look. Are you living what you say you know? Be open to learning. At at the same time, be open to UN-learning all that doesn’t serve you in your quest to grow.

“Love fulfilled sees where we could have gone the way of love before, if we’d known how, and how insecurities limited many of our choices. Love fulfilled perceives new meaning and higher reasons behind many of the mysteries of why things happened as they did.”
— Doc Childre

Have you ever questioned why you have chosen to have certain people in your life — and more specifically in your romantic life? We all have very good reasons for making our love choices, even if we are not consciously aware of them. We may choose a relationship that will improve our life in some way, teach us something important that couldn’t be learned in any other way, or challenge us to become better people.

Today, take a closer look at the relationships you have chosen for yourself. What is the mirror in front of you trying to tell you, trying to teach you? Our relationships can be more than just a source of happiness (or pain) if we look at them from a different point of view. Why did you choose to be with this person? What are you getting out of this relationship that makes it so valuable to your life path?

Taking this moment to look deeper into the meaning of your partnering choices, you may be surprised at the deeper hidden messages that you have been sending to yourself over the years through your significant other. Give yourself the gift of self-awareness and accelerate your learning by opening up your mind to the possibilities of growth that your relationships give to you.

“Appreciation is a powerful tool to shift perspective. Finding something to appreciate during a difficult situation quickly moves the perspective to the big picture from the little picture.”
— Doc Childre and Bruce Cryer, From Chaos to Coherence

What do you have to appreciate in your life right now? During the challenging moments in our life, learning to shift perspective can be the true key to your present and future happiness and success.

In our daily bustle and routine, we may slip into a state of complaint or pity. And it is when we allow our focus to remain on the difficult situations that the pain and challenge seems to amplify.

Allow yourself to find something good in the picture and allow that to grow instead. As you get the benefit of both perspectives you will learn to be consistently thankful and approving, and your life will subsequently grow in value. (more…)