LEARNING AND IMPLEMENTING LIFE
THE ALTERNATIVE WAYS
SUGGESTED APPROACHES AND ALTERNATIVES
"More systematic from more screened expertise" always wins.
This means pre-designed, sequenced programs and reading lists to build your knowledge, plus
models and checklists of what works, so you can know what to implement. The latter is what you
would design and use as the end product of your learning.
Start from what is the highest priority. Take the basic tests: Overall Life Test. Link to others from there, if desired. Develop a list of what you'll do, but prioritize what has the highest payoffs for you.
Smaller Blocks Larger Blocks
(a level at a time, returning (Going deeper into each area
later to add next level in or one area of special need.)
each area)
Top Down
(From models,
checklists of what
works in each area,
follow links to learning
that supports it
Bottom Up
learn the basics all the
way through effective
implementation stage
and/or mastery level.
Implement gradually
as you go.)
In the Top Down approach, one can reap very large benefits in a relatively short period. Or a person who has much knowledge and/or is already accomplished in an area can use these to "polish" off some areas that will reap high payoffs. This is the approach that starts from looking at how the pieces of life are done successfully by people, plus it jumps off from seeing how people who are models of success in life (or a part of it). It is based on the idea that we cannot really do something without a clear picture of what it looks like. We have to ask and get the answer to: What does a successful person "look like" (in terms of qualities, ways of life, etc.)?
In the Bottom Up approach, we start with the learning and the perspective on how and why things work and we "build" a life, as discussed in the piece The Core Of Your Life - Just Maintain This And Your Circumstances Will Not Matter. In this approach, we might focus on one area that is getting in the way of living a great life - and finally learn the understandings and information that was missing, so that you can master this area once and for all. Be aware of the basic truth: that we cannot do well in important things if we are stuck in anxieties and fears and/or bad beliefs - removing those barriers may be more valuable than anything else you can do in life, as clearing them away permits one to fill life with other great things.
WHAT TO DO NOW
I would first recommend that you establish what is of higher priority, perhaps by taking the Overall Life Test (and perhaps taking some of the other tests that that page links to). It is always good to "start with the end in mind" and "do first things first", as suggested in Covey's landmark book The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People, which is a "mandatory" read.
Then list out what you want to do, using the
after and/or to create the person you want to become.
If you think of the immensity of what you can do that has high payoffs for you in life, you could get overwhelmed with it. So you need to select one item at a time to work on and then digest it to usefulness. Basically, approach this the same way you'd eat an elephant - one bite at a time.
