According to the International Listening Association, within
twenty-four hours, we forget half of any information we've heard.
Forty-eight hours later, we've forgotten 75 percent of it. And
we don't grasp everything we hear in the first place. But these
numbers change when what we hear is repeated. And the more
it's repeated, the better the numbers look.
All this has a huge bearing on how you make changes in your life.
You change your behavior by changing the way you think. But the
way you think is as ingrained and habitual and as resistant to
change as any physical habit.
So learning new ways of thinking and behaving -- and learning them
well enough to actually make a difference -- requires repetition.
If, for example, you find a book that really makes a difference
to you, read it again and again. Make it an annual event. Every
time you read it, you'll come across things you'd forgotten about.
Audiotapes are ideal for repetition. Listen to tapes in your car
and traffic jams will be transformed from an annoyance to an
extended opportunity to improve the quality of your life.
Telling your friends about something you've learned helps cement
the new information in your mind. The more you share it, the
better you learn it. The effort and concentration it requires
to explain something to someone makes it clearer in your own
mind and more permanent.
There are always so many new books, new tapes, new seminars,
new ideas, new information - we know we'll never get to it all,
but our curiosity constantly pulls us toward it. But keep this
in mind: most of that new stuff isn't very good. And even less
applies to your situation. So when you come across something
that is good and does apply to your situation, hold onto it.
Reread it. When you come across a good chapter in this book
that applies to you, read it again in a month. Write a letter
to someone and explain the idea to them and how you used it
and how it worked. Post it on your refrigerator. Read it onto
a tape and listen to it in your car. Keep it in your life.
Repetition makes a difference.
With repetition you can take a fleeting hope sparked by a good
idea and turn it into an actual change in your life. Instead
of that possibility fading with your memory, it can grow stronger
and stronger until your life is changed for the better. The
distance between hope and actuality is crossed by this kind of disciplined application.
(Adam Khan is the author of 'Self-Help Stuff That Works,' a collection of 120 short chapters on taking your attitude and your effectiveness to new heights. Check out reviews and a sample chapter at Amazon.com.)
P.S. from Peter Shepherd
I would add that our behavior and habit patterns, and our belief systems, have been imprinted through three factors:
- Frequency - if an idea is repeated over and over, or a behavior is persistently followed, then we will become accustomed to it.
- Intensity - if an imprint is enforced upon you, perhaps at a time of duress or trauma, or if it comes from an authority figure, it will be more readily embedded.
- Duration - if the influence continues over a long period of time, then again, it is more likely to sink in and be accepted.
When we reverse this imprint or conditioning, the realization of it usually has some intensity. We then need to remain mindful and frequently and continuously apply the realization, until all traces of the imprint are eradicated. And also to bear in mind that the new realization may, at a time of greater awareness, again need to be revised.
"Every act of conscious learning requires the willingness to suffer injury to our self-esteem. That is why young children, before they are aware of their self-importance, learn so easily; and why older people, especially if vain or arrogant, cannot learn at all." -- Thomas Szasz.
We live in a fast-changing world. Smart, tough people learn to adapt and drop excess baggage. The ones full of fear, those who need to protect the status quo, are the people who are no longer young at heart, will not adapt to change and so get left behind. Put simply, to get ahead, you have to open up, learn some new things and be willing to start over. That's what the Start a New Life! is designed to help you do.
Daring to be Yourself
The aim of the new book, Daring to be Yourself by Peter Shepherd, is to help you achieve a 'wide-awake' state of consciousness, with integrated use of left and right brain abilities, forming the bedrock for breakthroughs in personal consciousness and spiritual insight. The practice is based on the premise that we have learned disabilities that set boundaries to our action and knowing. But no one need accept that they must remain as they were shaped by their hereditary body-mind and by the conditioning of their childhood and culture.
This 264-page eBook for Kindle (or the free Kindle Reader application for all platforms) is like a "best of" the Trans4mind site, all brought together for your convenience. But much more than that, it's also an incredibly powerful program for personal growth. Remove the barriers to self-knowledge and reveal your full potential with this step-by-step approach... Daring to be Yourself
Our Blog features excerpts from the book plus current news, views and links.
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"I realize many people use praise in ways that sound frivolous...but I must tell you that your book has changed my life AND I mean that in all ways. I found the entire work wonderfully upbeat, readable and valuable! It really was quite a wakeup call. In the midst of my "trials and tribulations" I had failed to be "me." Anyway, this "talk with you" really did change my life. Thank you! I needed this kind of "kick in the pants." It worked. WOW! You made a huge difference in my world."–Becky, USA
A digital copy of Daring to be Yourself is included with purchase of the Start a New Life! home-study course - which is effectively the practical "workbook" that accompanies the book by Peter Shepherd.
Working through this course enables you to dare to be yourself and design a brand new life. Expressing your true needs, wants and feelings, you can start to live your life's purpose!
After you have purchased the course, Peter Shepherd is available whenever you wish by email, to guide you every step of the way from where you are now, until you are established in a brand new life - the life that you have designed... Start a New Life!
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