Understanding is the booby prize

I remember est founder Werner Erhard saying many years ago, “Understanding is the booby prize.”  That statement sort of made sense at the time, but in recent years I’ve come to fully appreciate how profound it really is.

There are literally thousands of books, courses, workshops, webinars, DVDs, etc. that will tell you exactly what to do to be happy and have your life be the way you want it to be.  And yet most of the people who read those books and take those courses are still not happy and fulfilled.

Why?

Why understanding isn’t sufficient

Because merely knowing what to do and how to do it will rarely produce much change in your life.  You need to take action; you need to DO what the books and courses recommend, not merely UNDERSTAND what to do.

My weekly blog posts explain why we do what we do, why it usually is so hard to change our behavior and feelings, the source of compulsive behavior, why we suffer and experience stress, how to eliminate the beliefs that cause most problems, etc.  And if all you do is understand what I’ve written, nothing will change.  You will just understand a lot of things you hadn’t understood before.

What’s crucial is using what you’ve learned—making use of the information that explains how to change, not merely knowing how to change.

In my case, my blog posts and videos tell you why you need to eliminate beliefs, decondition conditionings, and dissolve meaning if you want to have the life you have always wanted.  But then you have to do it.

Some people, like Jack Canfield, tell you the principles for personal success, but nothing will happen if you don’t follow the principles.  John Gray, author of Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus, offers invaluable advice on how to improve relationships.  Tens of millions of people have read his books and quote him regularly.  But being able to quote him is not the same as following his advice every day in your relationships.

Find people whose advice makes sense and then do what they tell you to do.

My upcoming ebook

In my new ebook that will be published early next year, there are two authors: me and the reader.  Each of the 29 chapters contains an assignment for using what you’ve learned to make some useful change in your life.  The ebook, Live An Unlimited Life: Creating Freedom With The Lefkoe Method, emphasizes the need to take action, not merely passively gather “useful information.”  Information can only be “useful” if you use it.  The purpose of my ebook and this blog is to induce action, not merely to inform.

If you truly want to improve your life, I urge you to act on the information you are getting—from me or any other personal development expert.

Thanks for reading my blog.  Please post your questions or comments about the need to take action if you want to get results. Your comments will add value for thousands of readers.  I read them all and respond to as many as I can.

If you want to help your friends who understand why their lives are not the way they want them to be, but who do little to change their lives, please share this blog post with them by using the buttons located both at the top and the end of this post.

If you haven’t yet eliminated at least one of your limiting self-esteem beliefs using the Lefkoe Belief Process, go to http://www.recreateyourlife.com where you can eliminate several limiting beliefs free.

Copyright © 2013 Morty Lefkoe