Have you ever felt lost, confused, or ensure about the path ahead?

 

Have you ever hit a plateau – the kind where everything is going “OK” – but there’s nothing exciting going on in your life? There is no passion – everything is luke warm – you are kind of just going through the motions.

 

These feelings can apply to your career, relationships, friendships, or social life.

 

If you’ve answered yes to these questions, chances are your solution may lie in dedicating more time to self discovery.

 

Here are 4 ways you can accelerate self discovery that will ultimately get you on the fast track to living an exciting life, full of possibilities, and passion:

 

Step 1. Self discovery begins with learning – I’ve always been passionate about trying to understand why some people lead fulfilling, extraordinary lives and others do not. Over the years I’ve become dedicated to studying the greats – the iconic legends of the world. Do you know what I’ve discovered about these people? They are passionate learners. They are intellectually curious and they build learning into their EVERYDAY routines.

 

Fun fact – Tony robbins has read about 700 books on psychology! I’ve thought about catching up and even if I decide to read about 2 books a month – it would take me about 30 years to catch up to the amount of books Tony has consumed.

 

Tim Ferris takes mini retirements a few times a year and focuses on learning something physical and something mental. For example he took a trip to Bali and during the month he became fluent in Indonesian, learned to play gamelan music, and did yoga at least one hour per day.

 

The bottom line is – learning fuels growth and self awareness.

 

Step 2. Make time every day for learning – If we want to learn, we must be intentional about weaving learning into our lives. Think about it. What are you doing to incorporate learning into your life – NOW? Not during the summer, not on vacation, not when you have time off. What do you do every day to learn? How much time do you carve out? Do you think about how you can put yourself in a position to learn something everyday? Is this a goal or priority for you? If you’re not thinking about learning everyday, it is difficult to make progress in the areas you’re interested in.

 

I used to be this way. I’d buy these books and then tell myself I’d read them later – when I had time – when I had more energy – but then that NEVER happened. No matter how pure my intentions were – no matter how interested I was in the subject – I never got around to reading the book. It was never a priority of mine.

 

My advice to you is to identify something you want to learn and then decide to learn it by carving out time in your schedule.

 

Some ideas for new projects to take on:

 

  • Read a book
  • Take a course at your local university
  • Watch a ted talk every day
  • Learn how to play an instrument
  • Learn a language
  • Learn how to cook a new dish
  • Learn a new dance

 

Step 3. Apply the knowledge – Once you learn something new, take action! Find some way to use the knowledge or skill you’ve acquired.

 

If you learn the piano, play for your friends once a month. If you take photography classes, take portraits for others. If you learn how to make a new dish, cook it for your friends or host a dinner party.

 

You get the point.

 

Learning and doing leads to more self discovery. You determine what your strengths are. The more you learn, the more themes start to develop. For example, maybe you are really good at dancing and playing an instrument and you hadn’t previously been as “in touch” with this creative side of yourself.

 

Applying the knowledge also leads to skill building which is always a productive way to spend your time.

 

Step 4. Become an expert – Learning everyday and developing a skill can lead to something unexpected – becoming an expert.

 

Being an expert leads to another advantage. It puts you in the position to teach others. These days, during the age of information, being an expert is powerful. This alone could lead to a “side hustle” which is basically another way of making an income.

 

So after mastering salsa – you may find that people want tips/tricks from you or want private lessons. My advice is to embrace this! It’s an excellent feeling to get paid for doing something that you love.

 

Now go out there – and learn something new!