In our age of information, with everything just a Google-search away, there is really no excuse for not knowing. We know more than ever before, about everything from how the body and brain works, to how we create and operate complicated machinery, to what our planet needs for the future.

Information from different cultures are merging together as more and more people travel, read and learn; ancient knowledge coming up to the surface and merging with newfound research in different fields. We know what’s good for us and not good for us, the steps we need to take to get there. And if we don’t know – well then it doesn’t take much to learn. We can google how to make a healthy dinner, how to create a brand-new website, how to start a company, tips and tricks on how to navigate a difficult family issue. We can pick up a book at a library explaining how the stock market works, and we can join online communities who have the same interest as us. It is all at our finger tips.

Although we have most of the information we need at this point, our lives and the world in general is not exactly running smoothly. Clearly it is not the lack of knowledge that is the problem.

Finding the right information.

Perhaps part of the issue lies with finding the correct information out there. We all get opposing advice from time to time. Someone suggests that we try a raw vegan diet to become healthy, while another suggests a Paleo diet with protein. Some might suggest that we should do movement therapy for an injured leg, while others tell us to leave the leg alone until it’s healed. Some might say that the best thing for children is to have parents who are firm and clear, while others preach that children should be free to make their own decisions. I see this in the yoga world as well, where there are now hundreds of different “yoga styles”. Some people advocate a heated and strong practice, while others affirm that slow relaxing movements are the way to go.

In any field we will find conflicting views, and it is here that just Googling our answers may not help. Because how will we know which view is correct?

One solution might be to randomly find a view that correlates slightly to us and our personality, and then firmly holding on to it by any means necessary. But this might in return narrow our lives and experiences.

The other way is to try it out. Test it out. Meaning we are now becoming the scientist in our life. What will work for me? If time is not a problem, why not test out the various claims on topics such as food, yoga, sleep, lifestyle. This might not be applicable in all cases of conflicting views, but in terms of our own lives and choices, this can definitely be one way to find out what works. Become the scientist. (Needless to say, we also need to use a good amount of common sense, hopefully taught to us when we were young.)

Set a goal with challenges and feedback.

However, this doesn’t seem to be enough for most of us. Even though we might know that eating healthy and practicing yoga is good for us, and we have tested out a way to do this that feels right for us – most of us will still not just automatically change our lives forever. It still might be tempting to continue with old habits, to continue with the comfort of familiar routines, even though we know it’s not good for out health, our family and our future. So, what can we do?

The next stage requires determination and commitment. The psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi explains this as having “control over consciousness”, and writes:

“Control over consciousness is not simply a cognitive skill. At least as much as intelligence, it requires the commitment of emotions and will. It is not enough to know how to do it; one must do it, consistently, in the same way as athletes or musicians who must keep practicing what they know in theory.” – Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

So how do we find this commitment of emotions and will? Some might seem to have it more than others, but in the end it all comes down to a recipe for the brain, according to Mihaly:

• We need the knowledge
• We need to set a goal that we actually care about (and we shouldn’t fool ourselves here)
• The activity/new habit needs to have challenges
• The challenges should put us in between anxiety and boredom. Challenges that we can overcome with a little bit of a struggle. Not too big of a challenge so that we give up, and not too easy so that we get bored.
• We need feedback regularly that signals to our brain that we are making progress. Such as getting stronger, feeling the change in our body, feeling more energized, or actually seeing the progress physically.

Start with enough

We also need to look at the reason behind why we are doing something. When you have set yourself a new goal in your personal life, family life, at work or in your community. Ask yourself what the reason behind the goal is. The foundation that this new goal will be standing on.

If it comes from a place of lack, i.e., a feeling of not being good enough, we are more likely to fail. If we start with a feeling of unworthiness, feeling that we not deserving, but in the future, we might be – this sets the energy and tone that might cause more of a struggle.

Doing the opposite – starting from a place of gratitude and abundance, changes the entire foundation of our goal, and will more likely increase the chances of our success. Ironically, it is when we already feel that we are good enough, that we set ourselves up for more success. Yes we might want to improve ourselves, but not to eventually become “worthy” – because we already are.

We can still want to change our situation, want things to be different, and want to grow. But at the same time acknowledging how things are right now, and knowing we are worthy.

Get going

I encourage you to test this out. Find something that interests you, that in some way, shape or form will help improve your life and hopefully the people around you. Research as much as you can about the topic so that you have the knowledge necessary to start (and that includes reading up on conflicting views). Test our what is right for you. Set a goal that you actually care about and want to achieve, clearly define what your goal is, and note down the reasons for why you want to achieve it. It is here that we must come to terms with what is other people’s goal for us, or society’s goal – and what is actually our own.

When you find what is an authentic goal to you, make sure the activity is challenging enough, and not too easy. If we set our goals to high, we end up giving up. If we set our goals to low we get bored. As our skills improve, we also need to adjust our goals so that it is always challenging – in a good way.

Lastly, find a way to measure feedback, to track your progress. And make sure you are starting with a feeling of abundance and gratitude. There is no magical place in the future where we will suddenly be perfect and always happy. It all starts with this moment, realizing our worthiness and loving our imperfections, while deciding we are worthy of even more, both in our health, personal life and on a global scale.

Whatever your new goal will be, wherever you start, and whatever you realize – remember that just because something is your truth, and it works for you – that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s the ultimate universal truth that applies to everybody. And just because certain things feel good to us, that doesn’t mean that it will produce the same result in someone else. Remember to find your own truth and encourage others to find theirs.