Consistency

In the area of personal growth, there is a tendency for a participant to jump in enthusiastically, experience the elation and placebo effect, dabble for a while, then stop, believing they don't have the time. etc. This can even develop into an addiction of sorts where the good feelings of starting something are milked and then the participant starts something else on and on .Stopping is also often subtly driven by the anxiety that any effective practice will release.

What is effective is to incorporate one practice at a time and just let it become "what one does." It is important to stop frequent 'self-measurement', because the tension that brings to the practice usually undermines the practice. As changes do occur, others will inform the participant. Self assessments tend to be distorted.

In Buddhist, Taoist, Vedantic, etc.. traditions, a learner 'submitted' themselves to a teacher. In this way dabbling was avoided. This however also has the downfall of dogmatism, the limits of one teacher, fanaticism, and abuse by charlatans. translating the guru system to the West is perhaps inherently unsound. One must be one's own master, humbly submitting oneself to teaching and practice with prudence but some faith, because in emotional healing and development, there are emergency feelings but no emergency solutions.