Your Own Worst Enemy: Breaking the Habit of Adult Underachievement
I got a lot out of this book:
"Your Own Worst Enemy: Breaking the Habit of Adult Underachievement"
by Kenneth W. Christian, Ph.D
You can find the book at bookstore or library with the ISBN code:
ISBN-10: 006098872X
ISBN-13: 978-0060988722
Don't let the name of the book scare you!
It's actually very encouraging and inspiring.
The book describes a lot of what procrastinators deal with.
It specifically refers to helping
SLHPP's (Self-Limiting High-Potential Persons)
to learn how to cross through their self-created barriers.
(It also mentions many of the other mind-traps that members of P.A. suffer from.)
I've found the book to be very illuminating and useful.
(The author also has an online course, but I haven't looked into that.
You can find it at http://www.maxpotential.com
Apparently some of the website is free, and some of it costs money.)
(I prefer to just use the book in combination with meditation/higherpower
to help me get myself active.
Sometimes the low-tech non-glamorous approach works better for me.)
The book can be ordered from Amazon UK at
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/006098872X/
or from Amazon USA at
http://www.amazon.com/dp/006098872X/
(The author's website mentions that there are editions in other languages)
What I like about the book:
The stories and examples it gives of people who are stuck, and I read each one and said "oh that's me!". Most of the first half of the book is these stories and examples, but well worth reading. I needed to identify with the concepts so that I could proceed further. Kind of a "Step One" for me.
The second half of the book tells specific ideas about how to break through walls and gives more examples.
(It's not a 12step book, but it reminded me of Steps Three and Six).
It also talks about the "Stages of Change" and how we think about changing before we actually begin the process.
The book title "Your Own Worst Enemy: Breaking the Habit of Adult Underachievement" sounds a bit ... intimidating, but ... it's really an open and welcoming book. I think he could have come up with a more positive title.
Not just about underachieving at work or school, but also about neglecting all of our life dreams.
The book isn't just about underachieving at work or school. It's also about life in general. It asks things like: Do you procrastinate having relationships or underachieve ("settle for less" with relationships or avoid them altogether?) Do you procrastinate going on a long-dreamed travel vacation, or "underachieve" by just going to the park in town? Do you procrastinate adventure or underachieve by playing some things too safe? Do you procrastinate finding a new home? Etc. Etc. Etc. Why do you hold yourself back from being a full human being in all aspects of life? Why are you stopping yourself from following these dreams?
It also talks about some of the issues that some of us procrastinators have, such as: Why does a person get a longterm project or dream almost completed, and then fizzle out at the last minute? Why is there a lack of commitment to following through all the way?
All of these symptoms relate to what the author calls
being a "Self-Limiting High-Potential Person"
because ... our potential isn't just in work or school but rather in all of life's possibilities.
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