Affirmations have long been the wonder drugs of the self-help gurus.
So I wondered why they didn't work, in fact I wondered this to myself 10 times each morning, looking in the mirror with a stupid grin on my face. This went on for years.

Then I got a hoe.

Gardening as a metaphor for development of the self works as a concept because humans have close to an instinctual understanding of the natural process that leads from seed to feed, or more often, weed.

Affirmationists preach that a multitude of directed thoughts towards values and goals greatly increases the chances that such “seeds” will produce the desired outcome. However, volume is not the only factor.

Picture going out into a field and scattering a whole package of tomato seeds. Come back in three months. Any tomatoes? Your chances are slim.

Why? Several factors:

1. The soil must be prepared first. It is cultivated and the existing growth must be pulled up or at least seriously disrupted (the field was full something else first, right? If it wasn’t, the soil is dead.)

2. The seeds should be embedded in the ground. Most seeds will not survive if just scattered on the surface, they need to be put underground to get started and be protected at the most vulnerable stage.

3. Once the seeds start to grow, they may need more nourishment or water than what the natural environment may supply.

4. They also need protection from extremes of weather, weeds, disease, insects and other critters that love tender young plants.

Our formula: seeds + soil preparation + embedding + nourishment + protection = harvest.

The application of this formula to personal development is the focus of this proposal; the goal is to use the gardening metaphor to make the principles of preparation, embedding, nourishment and protection clear and understandable when applied to turning our thoughts and ideals into reality.

About livinglife365: | I am husband, father of six, and an interior design consultant and tailor. I am student and teacher of the sometimes tenuous connection between mind and reality. My job (not career, that would imply forethought) pays my bills; writing pays my soul, it condenses and clarifies the internal and external thoughts that argue with each other in foggy corners of my mind, sometimes even producing a clear winner.

Web site: http://www.livinglife365.com