What’s The Right Next Step On Your Inner Journey?
Hello and welcome back to The Joy Within’s podcast. Before we get started today I just want to say that if you’ve been listening for a while and like what you hear, do me a quick favor and share this with a few people you care about. Whether that’s a social media post, a text, an email, or in conversation, it’s up to you.
We are in the midst of crazy times, and a lot of people are struggling, whether they feel stressed or uncertain about the world, or are just a bit down from all of the negativity in the news each day, and I really believe that having resources like this podcast can go a long way. Know that if listening to this helps you, it’ll help your family and friends too.
And I know a lot of times it’s tough to talk about stress and negativity, so sharing a link can be a really great way to help someone, without feeling like you’re imposing on them or calling them out. You can just send the link and say “Hey, I was listening to this the other day and thought you’d really like it.” Simple. It only takes 10 seconds, and it might be just what that person needs to hear today.
Anyway, today I want to talk about one of the biggest mistakes I see people make on their personal development and spiritual journeys, which comes down to knowing the right next step to take, at each point in your journey.
I think a lot of people – and I’ve definitely been guilty of this myself over the years – think that because we’re talking about inner growth, it’s a path they have to walk alone. And that’s ok. Going it alone isn’t necessarily a problem if that’s what resonates with you.
The problem is that, when we do go it alone, we often think we know the right next step, but in reality we don’t. So we wind up wasting a lot of time going around in circles, feeling stuck, or just starting to move down one path but then stopping, turning around, and going in a completely different direction, often just before making a breakthrough and starting to see real progress.
And we convince ourselves that the solution is “just a little ways down this path” and “just a little ways down that path” only to be disappointed because we bounce around, when the reality is if you were to just stick with any one path a little longer, you’d get results.
When I was younger, I used to work in marketing, and I’d see companies do this all of the time. They’d go spend $1,000 on Facebook ads and when they didn’t see results, they’d switch gears and launch a blog. They’d write 10 posts for the blog, and when that didn’t work they’d give up and start a Youtube channel, and so on and so forth.
And, if you look at that from the outside in, it’s easy to say: “Well, did you really think you’d solve your marketing problem with 10 blog posts?” Did you really think a $1,000 ad spend would move the needle for the company?
And the answer is obviously no, but when you’re in the middle of it, you can’t see that. You can’t see the forest for the trees.
And the same thing happens when it comes to personal growth. I like to call it ‘book bouncing.’ I love to read, so I’ve been as guilty of this as anyone. Book bouncing is when you read a spiritual or personal development book, and you love it. As you’re reading you think “Yes! This is spot on! There are so many great ideas here. This is exactly what I need right now. “
Then what do you do? You finish the book, put it back on the shelf, and go look for the next book. You didn’t take the time to internalize it. You didn’t apply it. In other words: you read the book, but you didn’t really listen to it. You didn’t give it a chance to actually change your life.
Or, another form of this is maybe you go on Youtube and find a meditation to listen to. It’s nice. Soothing. But, it doesn’t change your life, so tomorrow you’re back looking for a new meditation to try. You don’t stop to ask: did I really expect to overcome decades of resistant thoughts in only 10 minutes? Is that realistic? You never repeat the meditation. You never finish the 30 day series. You listen once and move on.
It’s the spiritual equivalent of shiny object syndrome. It’s just like the business owner constantly switching marketing strategies. There’s the illusion of trying things, the illusion of making progress, but in reality, you’re not sticking with any one path long enough to see the results you really want. Then you can’t figure out why you’re not making more progress.
And – here’s the real trap – the more you know about a subject, the worse this tendency gets. We all do this, because we convince ourselves “Oh, I’ve read dozens of books like that, so I already know what I need to do,” or, “I’ve been trying to meditate for years, so I already know what I like.”
And maybe that’s true, but if you’re not making the breakthroughs you want – if you’re not growing at the pace you know you’re capable of – it’s because you need a guide. You need a clear path. And you have to commit to that path until you get results.
It’s not about taking just any next step. It’s about knowing the right next step to take. That’s why you need a guide, someone who has already done it, who knows the shortcuts and can keep you moving down the right path, so you don’t spin off in a thousand different directions.
And, honestly, that’s something I really pride myself on with The Joy Within. I spend a lot of time making sure that our Happiness University students and coaching clients are on the right path, making sure they know the best next step to take, for them, so they can make meaningful progress really, really quickly.
And for me, that’s the most rewarding feedback I can get, when someone says: You know Kyle, I’ve been meditating for years, but it never really clicked until I followed your steps,” or – someone said this to me the other day – he said: “Kyle I’ve been studying my mind for 20 years, and I thought I knew what I was doing, but in 6 weeks with you I’ve gone deeper than I’d ever imagined.”
Him saying that was really powerful for me. That’s why I’m here. That’s why I do this, so you can shortcut the winding, decades-long route I took and have a s simple, direct path. So if you need that, if you’ve been book-bouncing, jumping from one thing to the next, chasing greener pastures, going around in circles, or if you’re just ready to go deeper than you have before, head over to thejoywithin.org.
It’s free to get started, so you have plenty of time to poke around and see if it’s right for you. But, whatever you do, just decide and commit. Stick to one path for a while. That’s really the only way you’re ever going to get the results you want. And I think you’ll find that once you make that decision, once you commit to seeing it through, you’ll starting seeing results faster than you might imagine.
