Making our best intentions come true

The personal growth industry is booming, reflecting a widespread desire for self-improvement. Despite this enthusiasm, many people fail to follow through. They sign up for courses, buy books, join workshops and masterclasses, but what they learn is often zero. This can be because they simply do not apply themselves, or the effort they put in is in vein, since the course is likely designed without the reality of real life application (practice) in mind. This part explains the staggering statistic of less than 5% completion rate. If a person doesn’t fully integrate what they are learning, they will rarely retain the information. Time poverty and a lack of consistency is the culprit and the barrier between establishing a new and beneficial habit.

Environment and tiny changes are key

Steven Bartlett, a prominent entrepreneur and speaker, frequently addresses this issue. In his book, The Diary of a CEO, he shares a personal anecdote about his desire to learn DJing. His girlfriend bought all the necessary equipment, but it sat unused in his bedroom for years. It wasn’t until he set up the equipment in his kitchen that he began using it regularly. This change highlights the need to set up your environment to achieve success in building a new habit. Experts like Bartlett and BJ Fogg, author of *Tiny Habits, both focus on environment setting as a key factor in self-development.

Fogg’s research emphasises the importance of tiny habits and how small changes in behaviour, prompted by well-placed triggers, can lead to significant long-term improvements. By making desired actions easier and more accessible, individuals are more likely to integrate these actions into their daily routines.

Overcoming the time trap

Microlearning, or consuming small, manageable lessons throughout the day is an effective way to learn. It allows individuals to fit learning into their busy schedules, turning idle moments into opportunities for growth. Triggers are essential in ensuring these learning moments happen regularly to allow for subsequent self-improving habits to form.

Reflecting on these principles, I see the potential of the self-defence course, WarriorUp. The goal is to safeguard and empower women. The risk with any course is people’s reluctance to prioritise even the smallest amount of time but in this case, this lack of application directly affects safety and wellbeing. 

Mastering time is crucial. By helping people effectively manage their time, they will have the ability to complete courses like WarriorUp and develop the important areas of their lives. And, what could be better than having the confidence to verbally and physically defend yourself if the need ever arises?

The self-improvement industry often sells the promise of life enhancement. But, the reality is that most people struggle to integrate lessons into their lives regularly and rarely will they apply learnings on a regular basis. This lack of application prevents genuine growth since familiarising oneself with new skills is key to making these skills part of the self. 

We are only fluent in something when we do it ourselves. Watching others or simply doing the theory part of learning will never stick.

Setting up the environment is so important for building new habits. Leveraging microlearning, and using effective triggers within our own environments result in an increase to the rate of application and completion. As Bartlett and Fogg suggest, it’s about making small, consistent changes that fit seamlessly into daily life, ensuring that the desire for self-improvement translates into real, lasting progress.

By implementing all of these success factors, WarriorUp and other courses can move beyond the false pretence of personal improvement. And, in the case of this effective self-defence course, students will achieve independent strength and capability against threat and violence which will of course transfer into a confidence that benefits all other aspects of life.