Dr. Noah St John uses a car analogy to explain why effort alone doesn't work: you're pressing the gas with one foot on the brake. Progress requires identifying what's actually holding you back, not just trying harder.
Let's say you want to take a trip, and let's say you've got a nice reliable car that you really enjoy driving. So you start down the highway towards your destination. You're thinking positive, you're motivated, and you can't wait to get there. So you press down really hard on the gas pedal, but unbeknownst to you, at the same time you have one foot on the gas, your other foot is on the brake. So here you are driving down the highway of life trying to reach your destination, but you have one foot on the brake. How long do you think it's going to take you to reach Exactly! A long, long, long time. So let's say someone comes up to you because they see that you're having a problem, and so they say to you, Boy, you know what you need? You need a more expensive type of gas. That's your problem. So you pull into the gas station and fill your tank with the most expensive high-octane gas you can find, and you get back on the highway of life. But guess what? Because no one told you what the real problem is, you've still got one foot on the brake. So you're still not making much progress. So someone else comes up to you and says, You know what you need? You should get a new set of tires. Try these really expensive tires. That's your problem. So you go to the service station, spend more of your hard-earned money buying the most expensive tires you can find, and you get back on the highway. But guess what? You've still got one foot on the brake! So you're still not reaching your destination! Finally, someone comes up to you and says, You know what you need?
You should get a new car! This car isn't good enough! You should get a really expensive new car! That's your problem!
So you reluctantly trade in your nice, reliable car, spend a ton of your hard-earned money buying an expensive new car, And thinking positively, but with a little less in your bank account, get back on the highway of life. But even after all this time, money, and effort that you've spent, because no one took the time to show you the real problem, which was simply that your foot was on the brake, you end up not reaching your goals, not fulfilling your destiny, and end up feeling so frustrated So let me ask you a question.
If buying more expensive gas, more expensive tires, and even a brand new car isn't going to get you where you want to go, shouldn't you do whatever it takes to get your foot off the brake? And here's the other thing. It doesn't matter what kind of vehicle you have. You can use one of these, one of these, one of these, one of these.
You can even use one of these. Bottom line, if you're not moving forward, you need to change something.
If your foot's on the brake, you won't reach your destination, and you'll be spending and wasting a ton of time, money, and effort not getting where you want to go. So really, when you look at it, getting unstuck is the key to everything that you want in life.
