John Quincy Adams once said that “Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish, and a little knowledge that acts is worth infinitely more than much idle knowledge.” This is hands down one of my favorite quotes, especially the first two lines which I couldn’t agree with more in the area of ​​self improvement.

People can spend countless hours reading wonderful self-help books and attending a variety of different therapy sessions. They learn a lot of valuable information, but nothing seems to be changing their way of life or thinking. Tons of money and time are spent buying all these self-help items, only to find year after year that their life is still the same. They still suffer from depression, anxiety and low self-esteem etc. Never realizing that none of those self-help books and therapy sessions are going to help unless the suggested information is applied and practiced on an ongoing basis. It may also mean that all this knowledge that they have shielded themselves with over time was not used when a battle arose.

In recent years, the self-help industry has become a multi-billion dollar industry, maybe even more. And in part I think it’s because people are looking for a quick fix. So I suspect that one of the things that may be going on is, for example, that they read a particular book and follow an exercise expecting a monumental change to happen in a limited amount of time. When it doesn’t, many people tend to quickly search for the next quick fix, another book, therapist, or program that guarantees the changes that will put them back in the human race and make them feel better. Worse yet, a person may even give up completely losing the two key components: patience and perseverance.

It is easy to implement a particular suggestion in one’s life. But true progress comes from continuous practice in the area and the willingness to deal with the mishaps that may arise in the middle without being disappointed in time and quality.

Of course, we all know that what works for someone doesn’t mean it will work for you, and for sure we should aim to find the appropriate measures that best suit us as an individual, but when you surprise yourself in the course of After a year or less of going through various self-help programs with no results, it may be time for you to stop and consider that maybe not practicing patience and perseverance had something to do with it.

It could have taken months or years for a particular difficulty to appear through the initiation of different events. Therefore, it can also take about the same time for them to go away by practicing a suggestion given by an author, therapist, or self-help program. Realizing all the while that as you trudge down the positive path, there may be several times when you’re going to stumble back onto the negative sidelines, always straightening up and getting back on track without having to find another way.