Have you seen that ad for DISH Network about “The Hopper,” their satellite receiver and DVR unit? You can record and watch six different things in six different places—including the bathroom. With their magic box, you can keep yourself glued to the TV or video screen, hopping from one thing to another forever and never see it all—even if you only watched a few minutes of each program. You have that same kind of “opportunity” online with inspirational, motivational and self-improvement material.
There’s so much personal development stuff available that you could spend the rest of your life researching, reading and watching and never ever discover it all. That doesn’t mean it isn’t fun to try. Like the lure of the satellite “hopper,” more is better, right?
Not necessarily. Having more options for gaining insight is wonderful! However, it also makes it easy to become a hopper. You can keep changing the channel, hopping from one book, teleseminar, webinar or programs to the next, looking for the latest thing, looking for the magic bullet—that one insight that’s going to fix everything. And if you don’t find it, if you don’t hear what you want to or don’t get an instant feel-good fix, you hop.
Now, I’m not saying that sucking up all the knowledge you can is bad—it isn’t, it’s fabulous! It’s exciting to learn new things, it feels great and it’s good for you! But, how much of it do you remember the next day? How much do you put into practice? What do you actually do because you read or watched something?
As I write this, there is a little voice in my head saying, “You’re not telling them what they want to hear! They’re going to hop!” I know I’m not giving you a feel-good fix—that’s not my deal. My deal is helping you make real progress—helping you deal with what you need to so you can find real solutions to your real world problems—and that doesn’t always feel good at first.
Here’s the ugly truth. Much like chronic complaining, “serial self-help hopping” can be a way to help you tolerate what you know you need to change. Granted, it is a far more positive approach than complaining or other medicating behaviors, but the bottom line is the same. If you aren’t doing something different as a result of the action, then it is simply a distraction or diversion.
We can’t do things until we’re ready—that’s a fact—and immersing ourselves in new ways of thinking is essential to becoming ready. And, there are also times when we really need a period of non-doing to let things percolate behind the scenes, and reading inspirational and motivational material is highly supportive of that–we need it. Other times, it’s an escape.
So, really, only you know if you’re hopper or not. Only you know if you’re really looking for solutions to your problems or just creating a diversion from them.
If you’re not sure, try writing down the top three things you’d like to have different in your life. Start with a big list of what you want and keep narrowing it down until you get your three most important goals.
Now, think about what you’ve done toward each of them today. What action have you taken to make them become a reality today? What have you done this week? This month? This year?
The answers to those questions will tell you everything you need to know!
Hugs!
Paula
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2013 Beach Retreat Workshop Update: Here’s your early bird notice for the next Destin in December event! Mark your calendars now and plan to attend the “Creating the New You” workshop retreat December 4-8 or December 11-15, 2013.
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