Self Development Best Practices

Practicing Praxis
By Bob Proctor
Published: September / October 2008

Praxis is a word that, until now, could be found in the vocabulary of very few people. What the airplane was to travel, what email is to communication, Praxis will become to human development.

Praxis is the integration of belief with behavior. When you take time to digest its meaning, you’ll realize you’re working with a huge idea. Praxis describes the mental-physical state a person is in which causes him to get the results he’s getting. When you grasp this concept, you’ll be able to achieve any result you choose.

When you think about praxis, you might be inclined to say to yourself—everyone’s beliefs are integrated with his behavior. But, that’s not correct. And, quite often, when a person’s beliefs are integrated with his behavior, his beliefs are false, causing his results to range from bad to disastrous. Then there are other situations where people believe something that is sound, but fail to integrate their beliefs with their behavior, and their behavior becomes a physical contradiction to their belief.

The Big Lie
There are two ideas that, for the past few decades, have received broad acceptance by many. These two ideas should have been more carefully scrutinized, because they were false. Unfortunately, many who believed and integrated these ideas with their behavior, lost … and the losses were devastating.

The first idea has to do with education. We were taught: go to school, get a degree and you’ll get a good job. Yet, there are thousands of people walking the streets, degree in hand, with no job. What happened? Praxis! These individuals integrated their beliefs with their behavior … Unfortunately, they believed a lie. They believed that getting an education was getting a degree.

Education comes from the Latin word “Educo,” meaning to educe, to develop or draw out from within. Education is about developing your God-given powers, demonstrated by what you DO, not what you KNOW. We’ve been recognizing and rewarding people for what they KNOW, not what they DO.

Unfortunately, one lie generally leads to another.

The Second Big Lie
For decades, corporations preached, “Give us loyalty and we’ll give you security.” Millions of individuals blindly followed, never analyzing the offer being presented. Companies can’t give people security, regardless of service or loyalty. Real security comes from within. If you don’t have it there, you don’t have it.

If a person believes there’s security in a job and loses his job, he may feel he’s lost everything. Interview a victim of a layoff or downsizing. He was loyal and thought he had security. Ask the person whose severance pay is all gone. How secure is he with the belief he had? Many are resentful, blaming the company. In most cases, the company did the only thing it could to stay alive.

Blame is always inappropriate, regardless of how justified you feel. We are responsible for where we are and the results we experience. If your results are not to your liking, examine your beliefs. See if your beliefs are integrated with your behavior.

The promise corporations made was not viable. Nowadays, companies are still making promises, but the promise has changed: “Give us performance and we’ll give you opportunity for growth and development.” That’s a sound idea which is in harmony with the laws of the universe. Integrate that belief with your behavior and you MUST win.

What Do You Believe?
Courageously analyze your beliefs. Ask yourself if you have sound reasons for each of your beliefs. You may find that many of your strongest convictions have absolutely no foundation, and that some of your beliefs are totally absurd. Oddly enough, many of your beliefs you inherited through genetic conditioning.

Analyzing your belief system is the most important mental responsibility you have been given. Make a written list of your beliefs. Then step back and look at your list as if it belonged to a stranger. Hopefully, you have a good sense of humor because some of what you are going to see will probably be quite comical. That is the conclusion reached by most people who complete this exercise honestly.

The Beautiful Truth
It is well established and clearly documented that you’ve believed an overabundance of lies with respect to who you are and what you’re capable of doing. It’s high time that you begin to tap into the beautiful truth that, if you can see it in your head, you can hold it in your hand.

You are a spiritual being and, as such, have unlimited potential. You can improve every aspect of your life until it becomes an open and obvious expression of your own inner beauty. Happiness, health and prosperity are normal and natural states for you to experience; there should be no room for lack or limitation. The only thing standing between you and the good that life offers is a sound belief system that is in harmony with the laws of the universe. Combine that with the effective use and application of Praxis and you’ve got a winning combination.

Bob Proctor is widely regarded as one of the living masters and teachers of The Law of Attraction. Featured in the blockbuster hit, The Secret, Proctor has worked in the area of mind potential for over 40 years, is the best-selling author of You Were Born Rich, and has transformed the lives of millions through his books, seminars, courses and personal coaching. © LifeSuccess Productions www.bobproctor.com

back to top