My Favorite Steve Pavlina Quotes:

I’ve told you before that my favorite self help book is Steve Pavlina’s Self Development For Smart People. For those of you who are interested have no clue what I am talking about right now, this is my old book-review of Self Development For Smart People. I also talked about it again here.

What is special about this self help book is what it does to me.

A lot of self help books are very excitatory in their  way of writing: The writer tries to really motivate you and you basically feel the chest-pounding and grunting happening inside you as you read. I like those books, and they get me excited and motivated, and that’s good.

However, motivation wanes. As you may have experienced yourself, reading a self help book gives you motivation for a little while, but often once you’ve finished the book the peak goes to regular level, or even a drop.

But this book by Steve Pavlina has a very calm way of writing. It’s not chest-poundy at all, instead it’s very relaxed…but radically truthful and enlightening. The energy behind the writing is very clear and whenever I read it, I don’t start pounding my own chest – instead I start thinking and figuring things out. It’s nice.

I started rereading it again this week (I read most of my favorite books a few times a year) and already I feel better and more consciously aware.

Thanks to these favorite Steve Pavlina quotes, mostly. Now, these are quotes JUST from the first three (!) chapters — the book has way more gems and reading everything else puts them in a great context, but I couldn’t resist putting them up.

• You can’t solve problems if you don’t admit they exist. The first step on your path of personal growth must be to recognize that your life as it stands right now isn’t how you want it to be.

• By embracing new experiences that are unlike anything you’ve previously encountered, you’ll literally become more intelligent.

• Establish basic routines only to provide a stable foundation for branching out into unexplored territory.

• One part of us wants to be healthy, happy, and highly conscious. another part wants nothing more than to eat, sleep, have sex and be lazy. Without the presence of consciousness, we fall into reflexive patterns by default, living more like unconscious animals than fully sentient beings.

• Journaling is one of the easiest and most powerful ways to discover new truths. By getting your thoughts out of your head and putting them down in writing, you’ll gain insights you’d otherwise miss.

• The decision to connect is the essence of love.

• Don’t wait for loving connections to fall into your lap. Go out and consciously create them.

• In truth, you can love absolutely anything. Love is not an accident. Love is a choice to recognize the deep nonphysical connection we all share.

• No one is coming to rescue you. No one will hand you the career of your dreams, and no one will solve your relationship problems. No one will lose the extra fat on on your body. If you don’t proactively solve your own problems, they will never be solved.

• Self determination means that you’re completely free to decide what you want. You don’t need anyone’s permission or approval. Your choices are yours.

• Self discipline is the willingness to do what it takes to achieve the results you want regardless f your mood. When you’re feeling unmotivated, apathetic, bored, or lazy, self-discipline provides your second wind and keeps you moving. It’s your fail-safe, your motivational back-up system.

• Disciplining yourself to do what needs to be done, even when you don’t feel like it, isn’t easy. Building your self-disciplin is one of the hardest things you’ll ever do. It’s so difficult that some people will do almost anything to avoid it — procrastinate endlessly, do drugs, even commit suicide. But despite the difficulty, self-discipline remains one of the most significant aspects of personal development. Without it, your life is doomed to remain a pale shadow of your potential. Imagine all the wonderful accomplishments that will be within your grasp once you become disciplined enough to consistently follow through on your best intention.

Especially the last four basically buzz with truth for me – I love them. Good reminders for me, and maybe for you too. Hope you guys have a lovely Wednesday. I’m pretty sure I saw ACTUAL sunlight just now, so that’s exciting. Kisses.