Can We Ever Have Enough of Personal Development?

People frequently claim that they have completed their personal development journey and have had enough of reading books or listening to podcasts.

Note: This article is based on the writer Darius Foroux, and he explains to us in it the importance of personal development, providing examples from his experience.

When I hear something like this, only one word immediately comes to mind: arrogance. When people say they've had enough of learning, what do they really mean? They claim that they know more than other people, that they don't need it, and that they are superior to everyone else. That is exactly the kind of person I don't agree with at all.

Following Trends vs. Concentrating on the Fundamentals:

During my undergraduate studies, I worked at gym reception, where I observed that the members fell into one of two categories. There were a lot of people of this type who joined the gym to follow the latest fitness trends.

Among the trends were Tae Bo, the Atkins diet, bike training classes of all kinds, Zumba and yoga obsessions, and I remember Crossfit, which was very popular at that time.

Everyone is into rock climbing these days. They saw the movie Free Solo, and they thought they could do the same.

The first category of people I mentioned joined a gym for a few months, and then I never saw them again, as there are always people who adopt these trends merely because they are popular.

The second category of them concentrated on the fundamentals because they didn't care about the current trends but had internal motivations, like gaining physical strength and losing weight, and they were curious about the outcomes. They inquired about tried-and-true tactics, tried-and-true strategies, and training fundamentals.

Although the second category was much smaller, those who committed to exercising did so because they paid attention to the fundamentals. Even though it has been more than 10 years since I last worked there, I occasionally still see them at the gym where I currently train.

Even the Most Seasoned Meditation Practitioners Never Stop Practicing:

When you decide to go in a certain direction in life, it becomes a lifestyle, and those who claim to have had enough of something they did not start with have only followed the trend. The same is true for personal development, so disregard any nonsense telling you to put down your book and get out there and live your life. If you want to maintain a habit for life, keep going back to the fundamentals.

I recently finished reading a book on mindfulness, and one thing I took away from it was that even the most seasoned meditators still repeat the fundamentals. They never stop meditating, like beginners, and never get enough of it

It's a lifestyle, so why do most people stop doing something? Why did these people leave the gym? Why do most of us stop reading personal development books? The reason is impatience. It's true what the author saidو “Patience is the key. If meditation teaches you anything, it is patience. The ability to be patient is crucial for bringing about radical changes.”

Consider the motivation behind your improvement; if it is the wrong thing, such as trying to please others or get rich, you will give up easily if you do not see immediate results.

But you'll naturally be more patient if you have an inner motive. The secret to long-term success is to abstain from doing something for internal reasons, which will cause you to begin thinking like a beginner. When you adopt this mindset, you won't act like you already know everything because you've read a few books or say things like, “I've had enough of learning.”

Repeat the Fundamentals:

For everything in life, there are fundamentals, from fitness to diet, philosophy, and meditation. Focus on those fundamentals, repeat them frequently, and keep them in mind, and you will remain humble while also improving your ability to master whatever it is that you are doing.

The world's top basketball players practice free throws countless times. American professional basketball player Kobe Bryant, who is renowned for hitting 100,000 offseason practice shots, hasn't lost sight of the fundamentals. Tim Duncan, another of basketball's all-time greats, earned the nickname "the Big Fundamental" for building his career on basketball fundamentals. Although some have described him as boring, I prefer to refer to him as influential.

In Conclusion:

You can never master the fundamentals or stop improving yourself. This is a process that ends when life ends, so you have to keep improving yourself until then.