“If you’re not willing to learn, no one can help you. If you’re determined to learn, no one can stop you.” ~ Zig Ziglar
You know that old saying, “knowledge is power?” Well, that’s specifically what I’m talking about today. I’m not talking about a college education. Yes, a degree is a powerful thing, and depending upon what you do in life, possibly necessary! What I’m talking about today is more like continuing education hours for life! Self-educating. Daily. For forever.
Self-education is when you find every resource possible and read about it until your eyes bulge! I always tell people “we no longer have an excuse to be ignorant, we have Google.”
Between libraries and the internet… there truly is no excuse not to be your own expert. Why is this so important? Why can’t we just rely on the “experienced professionals?”
Because the “professionals” aren’t always experts. Ultimately, everything comes back to you and the decisions you make for yourself, whether it’s based on a professional’s advice or your own research. It’s all about personal responsibility.
It is your job to learn as much as possible about your health. Once you’ve studied the facts and learn all about what you’re dealing with, you will be able to make an informed decision!
I try to always make it clear that I believe most doctors mean well and there are many good ones out there. But even the most well intentioned doctor can make a mistake.
In fact, an average of 7,000 deaths per year occur due to handwriting mistakes alone.
So, what I’m telling you is that YOU have to watch your own back. You have to be the one making the decisions for your treatment. Following blindly may work, if you’re lucky, but it may also lead to your demise.
In order to stand on your own two feet, you must do the work. This means digging, learning, asking questions, and applying common sense. That’s not so hard, right?
Some of the tips I like to share in regards to doing your own research include the following:
- The Internet: Yep. The worldwide web. It’s packed full of almost anything you would ever want to know… and more! In fact, there is so much information it can sometimes be overwhelming (and untrue!). My suggestion, when trying to learn online, is to read multiple sources! After you’ve read info from many different places – there will always be some information that is similar between them. That is likely what you can take to the bank. In other words, it’s the sum of all of the sources that is more likely to be reliable. As you do this rather often, you will start to find whose information you can trust and whose information might be questionable. I have my own favorites that I will be sharing with you soon on a page of resources!
- Use Social Media: Speaking of the internet, follow social media! If you don’t spend a lot of time catching up with old friends, that’s okay. But, use it as a tool! I follow as many health and wellness sites as I can, as well as any other natural health related companies, doctors, clinics, and bloggers. Why? Because they share a wealth of information collectively! It’s a an amazing free resource to all who utilize it! It’s also a terrific way to learn new recipes as you are making changes in your diet. This has been super helpful for me!
- Keep an open mind: If you come from the standard western medicine background, like I have, there will be a lot of info you will tend to shut out or disbelieve. I can promise you if you had told me 20 years ago what I believe today, I might have laughed at you! As you open your mind to not only the possibilities, but also to history, you’ll be amazed at what can happen! (Remember, history is the best teacher!)
- Read, Read, Read: Read a variety of books! This means books from old healers, integrative practitioners, nutritionists, chiropractors, osteopaths, and naturopathic physicians. The more variety you learn, the better. This makes you a well read, well rounded person! Besides, who knows, down the road, you may get to use some of that knowledge to help someone! I tend to buy more books through Amazon Prime than anywhere else. Generally, you can find just about any book suggested to you there! (Even better if you have Prime, you’ll have it in 2 days no shipping!) If I wait until I get by a bookstore I will forget the title, or they won’t have the one I want (some of them are older books.) I love them!
- No time to read?: We all have faced this at some point in our lives. My only time to read used to be at bedtime… and then I would fall asleep four lines into a page and have to start all over the next night! It’s the longest way everrrr to read a book! So… what I learned to do is to find the book on Audible. (I love them too!) This way, I could download the book and listen to it WHILE I did the dishes, drove kids to school, exercised, gardened, or whatever. Where there is a will, there is a way. 🙂
You will always get the best out of any circumstance if you go into it prepared with a little knowledge, whether you choose to take someone else’s advice or you are following your own.
Benjamin Franklin once said, “We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid.” I have to agree with him!
