GanzChroma 0064
Exposure to information isn’t the same as learning from it.
One of the things I've noticed is that after 6 months of reading a self-help book or listening to a life-altering podcast, my life did not improve.
Then it dawned on me. I haven't really applied any of these lessons. This realization came to me when I was playing Sekiro. I kept getting my ass whooped by Gyoubu Oniwa (Boss) over and over again because I was trying to beat him with the same strategy.
I have played every Souls game and Bloodborne from FromSoftware. I know the mechanics of these games well enough. If something is hard, you grind against lower-level enemies, level up your stats and weapons, and you can essentially overpower the boss. But Sekiro wasn't having that.
In Sekiro, apart from a few items that boost your stats, you pretty much are the same person with the same weapon throughout the entire game. You can't grind and upgrade your weapons and overpower the boss.
I was frustrated since I had paid full price for this game and couldn't get past the boss. I wanted to experience the entire game, and FromSoftware games do not have difficulty sliders. You have to beat it at the difficulty they determined.
I stopped playing the game for weeks, and when I returned, I lost over and over again. Then I had this epiphany. What if I was playing this game wrongly? I've been trying Dark Souls tactics in Sekiro. What if I am not supposed to attack?
So I said, okay, I won't attack. I will only deflect/parry and attack. And in under 3 mins, I won. This was a revelation. The battle was the same, but my approach had changed. It was my own assumptions about this game that frustrated me.
This revelation was about more than just gaming. It was a metaphor for my personal growth. My real-life stagnation, like my initial failures in Sekiro, stemmed from a reluctance to change my approach.
I’d been passively consuming content without applying it. Listening to podcasts or reading books without implementing their lessons is futile. The sheer volume of information we can absorb versus what we can actually apply is vastly disproportionate.
This led to a realization: the key isn’t to overwhelm ourselves with endless information but to focus on applying one actionable item at a time. If something from a book or podcast resonates deeply, that’s where we should start.
Even if it means taking two weeks to apply a single action into your life, the compounding impact will be profound.
This is how real change happens - One Chapter; One Action. Just as changing my strategy in Sekiro led to success, altering our approach to personal development can bring about real improvement in our lives.
Don't just consume; let’s apply, focusing on manageable, impactful actions.
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