One common trap we all fall into is concluding we are making progress by the amount of time we spend doing an activity.
Let us take personal development for example. In our quest for self-improvement, we read up everything related to it. The immense amount of knowledge available seduces us into spending more time reading than in ruminating or implementing what we read.
Accumulation of knowledge and techniques regarding personal development gives us a feeling of accomplishment, but is it progress? Mere accumulation or even thinking leads us nowhere. They only create an illusion that we are on our way to self-improvement.
True development occurs when we implement and experiment what we learn. To paraphrase an old saying, personal development starts when we learn the difference between momentum and motion. First, learn to distinguish this subtle difference.
Career & Personal Development Blog on progress.
Image from Tate
