There must be some reason why people try to improve, in face of the alternative which may seem easier (either staying the same or getting worse), though which must feel more painful eventually (opposite of happiness?).

Unfortunately anything that I can recommend is also dedicated to this uphill journey, which is a journey of development, which, as it leads to happiness, is spiritual (i.e. has an aspect which is not material), which I can only conclude is also part of religion no matter if it is well organised or not. So I don't think there's anything I can say that fits your criteria.


Edit: now the anti-religious guidelines have been lifted do I remove this too?

Last edited by philiphoward123 (2009 October 25, 6:19 am)

Me, myself, and the Internet. ;p

wccrawford wrote:

Why put artificial limits on the content of other people's posts?  If they used God to learn Japanese better, more power to them and others might benefit from knowledge of how they did so.

Or drugs, for that matter. ^_^ Caffeine, that is....

Last edited by ruiner (2009 October 23, 2:13 pm)

I thoroughly enjoyed this article, which is all about setting high goals and attaining them:

http://calnewport.com/blog/2009/06/03/t … nally-good

wccrawford wrote:

Why put artificial limits on the content of other people's posts?  If they used God to learn Japanese better, more power to them and others might benefit from knowledge of how they did so.

EDIT: I'll save this so the discussion remains intact, but it's mostly a dead post so you probably don't want to read it.

I wanted the thread to avoid personal development packages bundled with a whole life philosophy because it generally puts people off. If it's spiritual in a way that could be applicable to all religions then sure. I guess what I'm saying is, I'm talking about tools and inspiration instead of preaching. Goals such as achieving happiness etc. is not what I meant by religious (and probably I mis-used the term because of the difference in how we talk about 'religion' in Sweden, sorry). I meant personal development guidance that links it directly to a faith system, I think makes it clearer.

If it's applicable to people of all faith systems and you think anyone can learn from the material without a major convertion, go for it. It's not that I'm against religious practice, it's that I want, like I said, readily accessible material that's available to everyone.

... The PC'ness of this scares me. Really, I didn't want to limit so much as make general guidelines to keep some sort of focus. I think the thread could easily be derailed by theological arguments, etc. (or new followers of a system who still have a bit of zeal in them, much like Khatz-worshippers) I may have come off too strong. Post good things, use your own judgment to decide whether it really can stand on it's own as it is. I bet pope John Paul had some cool speeches too. Just not anything too, you know, INTENSE.

P.S. ruiner: aw come on. I even wrote that just so Fabrice won't be getting questions why there's so much traffic going out to hardcore-pseudo-rastafarian "weed of life" websites.

Last edited by Surreal (2009 October 25, 2:28 am)

Ha ha, LSD &c. as a medicine is currently a hot topic on the web. ナイスタイミング！

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/ … h-benefits

Last edited by ruiner (2009 October 24, 2:13 pm)

It is often said, from a spiritual point of view, that suffering can be a blessing. It opens your mind to a different perspective on life and what it's all about. It makes you yearn for lasting inner peace, makes you question the lifestyle that is presented to you, and can also make you more .. what's the word.. empathic with other people suffering around you (that doesn't make you a saint, just more "aware" of it).

Read books about meditation, and practice... even irregularly, to realize that intellect is not all there is to your mind. The "heart" is not in the intellect, and likewise your personal growth will be limited if you stop at the intellect.

These are some books about meditation I saw often recommended:

The miracle of mindfulness - Thich Nhat Hanh
Zen Meditation, plain and simple - Albert Low
Mindfuless in plain english - Venerable Henepola Gunaratana

You can only go so far on your own with these.

The things that I consider helped me grow most these last few years are a 2nd round at a 10 day Vipassana course, practicing yoga, reading "Think and Grow Rich" from Napoleon Hill.

Then more and more lately I find myself connecting dots and seeing similarities in all those approaches.

For example, possibly without knowing, Napoleon Hill expressed in western terms and aspirations, many truths about our mind that are also taught in Vipassana meditation. The greatest value I found in Napoleon's Hill book is that when he exhorts you to use your thoughts in a specific way, he is really taking you towards awareness or "mindfulness", and in Vipassana terms, that means acting instead of reacting.

Likewise, Yoga for many can start as a purely physical journey, but if you persevere, you eventually see the other layers, by bringing your attention into the body, your mind will slowly open up to other perspectives not limited by intellect, and eventually to more peace and happyness.

Here's a beautiful talk by Gangaji (a western woman who is named such by her teacher). She answers to the question "who is Gangaji?" but it's not about her, instead she tells people this beautiful image "stop telling your story":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7CLNP16XBc

You title this topic "personal growth" so that is my answer, but perhaps you were looking for something more like "self development techniques" which in the western world is often  more concerned with one's own ego, achieving success in life etc. Which is all good, all the roads will take you to Rome, eventually

ファブリス wrote:

You title this topic "personal growth" so that is my answer, but perhaps you were looking for something more like "self development techniques" which in the western world is often  more concerned with one's own ego, achieving success in life etc. Which is all good, all the roads will take you to Rome, eventually

No, not at all, quite the opposite actually. I was hoping the sidenote would make it understood this isn't just about traditional western, "cold and hard" personal development but all kinds of them. The balance of them intrigues me - actually, I just got thinking about applying the 'pyramid method' (see kanjapan's link) to personal development, focusing on becoming outstanding in one aspect of personal development then using what you learned on a more general level.

(If I may, do you have good summaries/reviews of the books you mentioned that you could link to? Just googling it wouldn't be the same because you obviously know better what would be 'good' summaries)

Cool thread. In working towards fluency I feel that not only goals, but reading the occasional motivational piece is incredibly helpful. I especially liked the links ファブリス and kanjapan provided - some solid gold right there.

For me, I've found that having incredibly strong beliefs about learning language makes studying a necessary part of my life. Some of my friends who have studied psychology have asked me about my approach to language, and helped me break down my beliefs into three major ideas.

I am becoming literate in Japanese.
This runs in contrast to the idea that I'm "learning a second language" because the goal becomes functioning native level Japanese rather than "good enough." The difference is the difference between knowing just RTK 1 versus RTK 1 and 3 plus every Kanji you see once in a while. Khatzumoto talks about this in this article.

Improving my Japanese a little bit makes my life exponentially better.
Quite simply, living in Japan is better when you speak Japanese. My friend from Tokyo taught me this idea, and, through believing it, is now able to read complex texts about economics and the like with relative ease. His goal was more towards talking with cute girls and getting a job, but, the side effects of understanding the depth of a language, the nuance, and the subtle communication make life more intricate and beautiful.

It is my responsibility as a foreigner in Japan to be fluent in the language.
This is an unusually strong frame I have about language that many people disagree with. I don't intend to derail the thread, so please here me out. I think it's wasteful and petty to live in a foreign country and only be able to communicate with a small group of people. That is, as an English-speaker, I feel it is wasteful to be only able to go to places that accommodate English speakers or have people who have studied English more than I have studied Japanese. Although it's good for the short term (people on vacation, studying abroad, or just on a brief working holiday), for those who are in Japan (or any foreign country) for the long term, I feel if you have the capacity to become fluent, you must do it.

Hope this helps someone.

Last edited by Evangelo (2009 October 25, 8:31 pm)