Shownotes
Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy
Welcome to Day 434 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.
This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom
3 Trails of Personal Development
Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 434 of our trek, and today is Motivation Monday. Every Monday we hike the trails of life that will encourage and motivate us to live rich and satisfying lives this week. Today we will explore 3 Trails of Personal Development.
We are broadcasting from our studio at Home2 in Charlotte, North Carolina. We finally had an entire weekend at our home here without traveling, so that was a nice break. We did various projects around the house on Saturday. On Sunday we were able to worship at our church here and had some of our kids over for dinner. This certainly helps to set the tone for the coming week without being too worn out.
All of our lives seem overly busy in today’s world, regardless of who you talk to. We seem to fill our days with activities, and it would do us all well to take some time to relax, recharge, and refocus on what is most important in life. This includes setting time aside for personal development. This includes the three aspects that make us unique and different from any other life form on earth. Let’s break camp for today and conquer the…
3 Trails of Personal Development
If you desire to live the rich and satisfying life that we were all created for, then there are 3 basic areas of personal development that you need to continually work on. Even if you personally love to work as I do, you have to understand and put into practice that you need to learn to work harder on yourself than you do on your job. I must admit that this is a challenging assignment for me.
This business of personal development lasts a lifetime. What you become is far more important than what you obtain in life. There is an important question to ask yourself regardless of your occupation or duties in life. Most people will ask, “What can I obtain through this work?” or in other words, “What am I getting?” Instead, you should ask, “What am I becoming?” What you become directly influences the level that you obtain in life. Think of it this way. Most of what you have today, you have attracted by becoming the person you are today.
Most of what you have today, you have attracted by becoming the person you are today.
It is a fact that income or status rarely exceeds personal development. Now that does not mean income and status should be the top priority, but it is a gauge measuring personal development. Sure, there are times when someone may excel without corresponding development, but unless you learn to handle the responsibilities that come with it, it will usually shrink back to the amount you can handle. It is difficult to maintain that which has not been obtained through personal development and wisdom.
So here’s the great proverb of life…
To have more than you currently have, you have to become more than you currently are.
The world can be a demanding place. There are plenty of opportunities, but you have to get ready for it and prepare for it. Just as the farmer must plant in the spring and tend to the crops in the summer in order to expect a harvest in the fall, you have to invest a portion of this year getting ready for next year. You have to invest a portion of this decade getting ready for the next decade.
As the farmer must invest many long months of planting and tending to the crops for a few weeks of harvest, so a big share of your life must be invested in the developing of your skills in all areas of life.
Personal development is a push. It’s a struggle. It’s a challenge. There is no harvest without planting and tending. That is the basic law of life. It’s the struggle and the challenge to develop yourself and your skills to see what you can create in the way of value in the workplace and in any other area of life.
Life is all about creating skills and value and taking those skills and value to your work and indeed the world in order to realize what it will return for you.
There are three primary trails or paths in life that you must take to make continual improvements to living a life that is rich and satisfying. This is especially true in today’s fast-paced, ever-changing, technology-driven world. Those three trails are the body, mind, and soul or Physical, Mental, and Spiritual.
We all know that new habits don’t come easy, but they can be developed. Sometimes when you develop a lot of momentum in one direction, it’s not that easy to change, but it is possible. Thomas Edison once said that “Success is 10 percent inspiration and 90 percent perspiration.” I have certainly found this to be true in my own life. You have to study the courses, learn the skills, put yourself through the grind, and do the mental push-ups to get yourself ready.
Inspiration is fine, but inspiration must lead to discipline. It’s one thing to be motivated, but it’s another thing to be motivated sufficiently to take the classes, do the reading, do the repetition, and go through it over and over until it becomes part of you. Those are the challenges. They’re not easy, but they’re challenges that if you take on, develop, and grow, they will determine your place, your return, your equity, and the worth you get from the marketplace and your world.
As mentioned, there are three trails of personal development, and the first one is…
1. Spiritual
There may be those who argue about the spiritual aspect of humans, but I have a singular belief that says humans are not just animals. Some people believe we’re just an extension and an advanced form of the animal species, but I believe God created humans to be unique, in that, He made us in His image. Spiritual qualities make us different from all other creations. I have been a devoted student of the Bible, and my faith is built on what I have studied. Regardless of your faith walk, I recommend you be a student of the spiritual side of your nature. I suggest that you invest time getting to know and understand your spiritual side and assimilate that as part of your worldview. In order to be a whole person, you must focus on all three aspects of your being.
2. Physical
The body, mind, and soul are integrated into a cohesive whole and make you who you are today. On the physical side, you have to understand that your body is a temple for God’s spirit. That is a dwelling place. If you don’t take care of your home or apartment, you will have inadequate housing. It is the same with your body. You should do all that you can to take good care of it by eating wholesome, nutritious foods and getting adequate exercise and a proper amount of sleep. Treat your body like a temple, not a woodshed.
The only house your soul and mind have to live in currently is the physical body, and it is a crucial aspect of living a rich and satisfying life. When you are in good physical condition, then your self-worth, self-confidence, and ability to succeed in life will be greatly enhanced. If you are not in good shape, it may take some time to reach that point, but once you are there, maintaining a healthy body is much easier than trying to patch up a sick body. It is worth all the time and effort that is required. In the long run, it is much less expensive to live healthy. There are no excuses today for poor health with all the resources that are available online.
When you feel well and look well, you will be amazed at the opportunities that come rushing towards you. How you appear to other people whether it is on the job, in your various communities, or elsewhere, your appearance and self-confidence will come shining through. You may think people shouldn’t judge you by your appearance, and that may be true. But let me tell you, they do. Don’t base your life on should and shouldn’t. Only base your life on realities. Sure, when people get to know you they’ll judge you by more than what they see, but at first, they’re going to take a look. So, physical appearance is part of the physical side of personal development.
Be conscious of self but not self-conscious. There’s a certain point that we need to be conscious of ourselves, take care of it, and then let it go. Some people worry about their appearance all day, and it detracts rather than adds. So take care of it, and then let it go. Do the best you can, and let that get the job done. Be conscious of yourself, but not to the point of being self-conscious.
3. Mental
The third part of personal development is the mind. Stretching your mind, developing good thinking and study habits, pursuing ideas, and trying to find ways to apply them to human behavior and in your world. All of that takes mind-stretch and mind-exercise. Part of stretching yourself is reading and studying. You can’t live on mental candy, so you’ve got to have the full range of mental food in order to grow. I call that mind-stretch.
Your willingness to tackle subjects that are difficult and that most people have decided to let slide gives you an extraordinary edge in your world. It takes mind-stretch. If you always back away from something that seems a little difficult at first, you leave yourself weak. You leave yourself unprepared to tackle the changes in your world. Guard your mind carefully and don’t take on the thinking patterns of the world. As Romans 12:2 tells us, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”
Another great quote from Zig Ziglar puts it so well, “You are what you are and where you are because of what has gone into your mind. You can change what you are and where you are by changing what goes into your mind.”
The 3 Trails of Personal Productivity are your body, mind, and soul. Take time today to hike these three trails of self-improvement. If you don’t take personal responsibility for yourself, then you will fall prey to someone else’s plan for your life, and they will not have your best interest in mind. Please let me know how I can assist you in getting on your trails to personal productivity by emailing me at guthrie@wisdom-trek.com.
Tomorrow’s short trek is part of our Wisdom Unplugged series that we are now hiking on Tuesdays and Thursdays. These 2-3 minute wisdom supplements will assist you in becoming healthy, wealthy, and wise throughout the entire week. So encourage your friends and family to join us, and then come along tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.
That will finish our trek for today. As you enjoy your daily dose of wisdom, we ask you to help us grow Wisdom-Trek by sharing with your family and friends through email, Facebook, Twitter, or in person inviting them to come along with us each day. If you would like to listen to any of the past daily treks, they are available at Wisdom-Trek.com. Don’t forget to subscribe to Wisdom-Trek, so each trek will be downloaded to you automatically. I would also appreciate it if you would rate and review us on iTunes or Google Play so that others will find out about Wisdom-Trek and join us.
Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most of all your friend as I serve you in through this Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal.
As we take this trek of life together, let us always:
- Live Abundantly (Fully)
- Love Unconditionally
- Listen Intentionally
- Learn Continuously
- Lend to others Generously
- Lead with Integrity
- Leave a Living Legacy Each Day
This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Every Day! See you on Monday!