Personal Development Roadblock: Are you specializing too soon?

Human beings have no shortage of motivation once they have decided to do something, but is it possible that you may be jumping the gun in your personal development efforts?

Most people get involved in a personal development or self improvement program with a very specific end-result in mind. For some people it is to lose weight, for some it is financial success, others are looking for fulfilling relationships, while some people are simply trying to figure out what to do with their lives.

However, in each case we tend to jump on the first great idea that comes to mind, thinking that this one concept or plan for success is going to be our ticket to fame, fortune, and happiness.

Now, that is not to say that any given idea won't serve as a huge step in the right direction. However, if you think about the original mission, you may realize that you have purchased your ticket to Success Land a bit prematurely:

PERSONAL development.

SELF improvement.

These terms say nothing of financial windfalls, incredible career opportunities, rapid weight loss, or romantic bliss. Those may be the results that you are looking for, but if you haven't "taken care of your own backyard" so to speak, the opportunities for success in those areas will still only lead you right back to where you were when you started.

People who suddenly find themselves with a lot of unexpected money almost always find a way to either lose that money very quickly, or to allow their lives to fall apart as a result of suddenly having a lot of cash, yet not knowing how to handle it.

People who hire a top-notch personal trainer and lose 50 lbs in 6 months tend to invariably end up putting the weight back on because it wasn't their own state of mind that allowed the weight loss, but rather the order-barking, non-yielding personal trainer who forced that person to clean up their act.

People who have consistently failed to maintain happy and fulfilling long-term relationships will continue to fail in that area of their life, even if they suddenly find themselves surrounded by an excessive amount of potential suitors. Until they figure out the self-destructive trigger that has caused them to sabotage past relationships, no amount of new relationship opportunities is going to change how they handle a new partner in their life.

Each of us carries around a nasty little virus called the Self-limiting Belief. It causes us to find ways to sabotage our own success, no matter how great of an opportunity or a learning experience is put before us.

Self-limiting beliefs cause us to shoot ourselves in the foot, as it were, to make sure that we are never able to cross the finish line of any success path that we put ourselves on.

The only way to ensure success - in any area of life - is to find out why we have failed to be successful in that area in the past, recognize our own shortcomings, and then take whatever action is appropriate to eliminate the self-limiting beliefs.

The irony of this situation is that once a self-limiting belief has been recognized, the mere act of recognizing it is often enough to eliminate it's negating effect on our lives.

If you want to practice personal development or self improvement, don't run right out and buy the newest program or system that is going to walk you from point A to point B to point C.

First, ask yourself why - deep down inside - you haven't already achieved success in that area.

When you have that answer, then it will be time to specialize in bringing that success into your life by finding the proper system for doing so.