How does the path of your Personal Growth really begin?
Are you excited to be able to delve into yourself and your personal development journey? Or are you a little insecure, reluctant and wondering what this is all about and where to start?
Let me briefly explain how you begin your personal development journey. The matter is very simple, and believe me, you are not even aware at first that this is it and that it is so easy.
The first and most important thing is to understand the following: Starting your personal development journey does not mean you are full of shortcomings and need some sort of “fixing” or “upgrading”!
By no means, you do not even have to think about it. In fact, the opposite is true.
What is personal development?
You may not be aware of this, but today you are not the same person as you were yesterday.
The moment you have decided to learn about personal development and start reading about it so you can start your journey, you have already moved a centimetre forward and you are on your way. There is no way back. You will never be the same as you have been before.
That’s what I’m talking about, it’s about personal development, and yes, it’s that simple.
Suddenly, you are thinking a lot about areas that can be improved, so you can move from your current position to the point where you want to be in your life.
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The moment you have decided to learn about personal development and start reading about it so you can start your journey, you have already moved a centimetre forward and you are on your way.
Next, put together a realistic plan of action and put in consistent work to get there, while gradually getting used to the mindset. You will unleash your full potential over time.
Are you aware, that you have already taken your first step here?! Now let’s design our personal development plan.
Personal development areas
Your dreams and aspirations are likely to include some of the following areas of life:
- Career or Business
- Education
- Finance
- Health and Fitness
- Relationships
Think about each area: is there a specific aspect of your life that you want to focus on? Write down everything you want. It is important that you write it down; you can use a computer, but if you ask me, it’s even better to write by hand in a notebook. I’m quite traditional about this, even though I love technology.
The point is to write down everything, down to a detailed description of the car you want to drive, the house you would like to live in, or the partner you want to meet.
Take a moment to reflect and explore your true desires. Maybe your health is upsetting you and now seems like the right time for drastic action.
Maybe it is time to think about saving.
If you want to dig deeper into yourself, focus on each area individually and process it in depth, connect deeply with your inner self. This magical exercise for self-discovery and self-awareness is a key part of personal development.
Why do you need a personal development plan?
I firmly believe that if you can think of something and come up with a detailed plan of what you are going to do, you can make it happen.
Your personal development plan is your plan. It is a kind of a compass that ensures you are on the right track to your goals.
Not only that, it will often remind you why you set your goals and why you can achieve them. After all, you thought of them yourself! Divide your grand plan into small pieces.
You have written down your dreams and wishes. Now, next to them, make a list of the little things you need to do to accomplish them. Divide your grand plan into small pieces to make it easier to handle.
You should devote all your attention on the plan every day, one day after the other, every single day. Not only once in a while or once a week.
No, you have to do it every day to reach your goal.
For example, if you plan to increase your knowledge by reading books about personal development and self-help, read at least 30 minutes every day, not just once a week. Get used to doing one thing related to your personal development plan every day, and you will surely reach your goal.
Why are plans important to you?
Do you want to become a millionaire, a successful writer, or an inspirational life coach? Consider the reasons why achieving goals is so important to you.
Maybe you want to prove to yourself that you can do it. Or you want to give your family all the comfort that money can buy. Maybe you like the idea of becoming a best-selling author.
Regardless of the reasons, you need to be sure that you have a strong enough reason that is meaningful to you and that you will not give up.
This is the driving force that will encourage you. Your strong reason will drive you to action and become extremely important in the pursuit of goals.
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Do you want to become a millionaire, a successful writer, or an inspirational life coach? Consider the reasons why achieving goals is so important to you.
What do you want to give up?
There is a book to read, YouTube to watch, a podcast to listen to, courses you take, notes and diaries to write.
To do all of these things, you will have to sacrifice certain others, such as drinking, socialising or watching television. You will also need to step out of your comfort zone and prepare for unfamiliar territory, people and situations.
Think about what you will give up and I will tell you how strong your determination is.
Is it worth it?
If you were certain that there was nothing standing between you and your dream life, you would not hesitate and give your best to make your dream come true.
Which means that you are the only person preventing you from living your ideal life.
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We all have the opportunity to learn, grow, expand our boundaries, become the best version of ourselves and live our dream life.
If you ask me if personal development is worth it, I can only say that I wish I started it sooner.
It is impossible to think differently, when you see all areas of life, including physical and mental health, improve. The result is visible quickly and the surroundings notice it quickly.
Important: the plan should be clearly defined
I cannot emphasise this enough: make a very precise plan. “I’ll run for one hour at 19:00, Wednesday and Friday.” is better than “I’ll run 3 times a week.”
“3 times a week” delays getting into the right mindset.
When you do not set your goal clearly enough, it is very easy to set it aside: you convince yourself that you still have a few days to “accomplish it”. I will tell you about my first-hand experience.
When I made the plan to write 30 articles a month, I thought I will write 5–6 articles when I have a good day and have them in stock, and then I can do something else for a few days.
This kind of mental planning doesn’t work. It doesn’t surprise me at all that I didn’t succeed. On the other hand, when I decided to post daily during my 30-day challenge, it went great.
There wasn’t any “should I post on the blog today or tomorrow?” The goal was specific. It was a daily thing, without exception.
Once you make a detailed and very specific plan, you eliminate the tiredness of decision-making, constant deliberation and delaying, by simply proceeding with it without excuse or discussion.
Every time you accept a new challenge as part of your personal development, the challenge can take 30 days or 100 days, even 7 days; that doesn’t really matter.
Make sure you monitor your progress. Review what is working and what is not. Find out what needs to be done. This is how you continue to develop and improve.
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When you do not set your goal clearly enough, it is very easy to set it aside: you convince yourself that you still have a few days to “accomplish it”.
Final thoughts
I cannot tell you enough how much my personal journey has changed me for the better. The path of personal development is a lifelong process. We look at all areas of our lives and create an explicit intention to live the best life.
With every effort you will become the best version of yourself and take a step closer to living your dreams. It is worth it; it is worth every step, effort, pain, tear, laughter, because you look back and see who you have really become and where you were before. I am grateful for every minute and hour that I have dedicated to myself to become what I am now.
With love.
Jasmina
Adapted from: moneyhabitmuse.com
