When I was a child, I used to say things like,
“When I’m 9, I’m going to keep my room tidy…”
“When I’m 11, I’m going to help with the washing up…”
My mum and dad used to joke about it because when the birthday in question came, nothing changed.
Even from a young age, I wanted to be a better version of me, but I didn’t make the changes in myself that I wanted to make (for a looooooong time).
Have you ever wondered why personal development is so hard?
Many people want to improve themselves – manage their time better, be more organized, speak more confidently, be calmer, take better care of themselves or their family, and more…
They may even do this for a little while.
But they don’t keep it up.
Well, even though we talk about “self” improvement, research shows that the most successful efforts to self-improve involve other people.
Stanford professors Geoffrey Cohen and David Sherman identified the “self-affirmation theory”.
This means that, because our ego is naturally self-protective, we tend to minimize our shortcomings and give ourselves excuses for not doing what we told ourselves we were going to do.
The result?
Individual self-improvement efforts overwhelmingly fail.
According to one Harvard Business Review article:
“Human beings are infamously bad observers of our own reality.”
That’s exactly why I’ve invested so many years in working with my own coach or being part of group programs.
And now I’m a coach and offer group programs to help others make the changes they’re looking for around the four phases of the Sasuga! Success Cycle: selfcare, planning, communication, and productivity.
In Episode 172 of the Sasuga! Podcast, you’ll hear
directly from six wonderful Japanese women who’ve made significant changes in their work and lives in just 3 months, including
- becoming more confident
- shifting out of that moya moya feeling and getting clear on their career direction
- getting out of overwhelm – no more “too much to do and too little time”
- creating habits to prioritize selfcare, especially sleep
- discovering how to do great work and be a great mother
Enjoy!
Prefer to listen on your podcast player?
Links for you
Episode 138: Do You Avoid Asking For Help?
Episode 162: What’s Love Got To Do With It?
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