The beginning of 2024 is a wonderful time to work on your personal development, as this leads to being and achieving all you desire. Professionally, your self is reflective of who you are in the workplace, so why not start the journey ‘right.’
When you’re beginning the road of personal development, you’re investing in yourself. If you have dedication, you can make working on your skill set a passion project. You will be investing in yourself – what better use of your time and money!
Let’s discuss seven steps to the road of personal development. But first, how do you define personal development?
Defining personal development
My definition of personal development is taking actionable steps to enhance your quality of life. To me, it’s discovering who you are. And having self-awareness as to what makes you you.
It’s also challenging negative habits and looking for ways to break them with the least amount of guilt possible. Ultimately, personal development is focusing on the future you and betting on that person.
Be practical:
Know your limitations. Take inventory of not just your skills, but your personality, too. How can you leverage skills to hit the ground sprinting? How does your personality make you unique?
Asking yourself how you can realistically tackle your personal development journey without reaching the point of exhaustion will be your guiding force. The worst thing you can do is overexert yourself, especially in the beginning.
Breaking cycles:
One of the hardest things you’ll quickly learn on your journey is how tough it can be to break cycles. Change is difficult in the beginning. But, by being diligent and keeping your eye on your ultimate goal, you’ll feel refreshed to take on the work and challenges ahead.
Not just that, to break cycles you’ll have to have a tight grasp on your triggers. How can you do that? First, by bringing awareness to any harmful thoughts you may be having.
Our thoughts can be slippery and hard to catch. So, perseverance is key. Understand that in order to break a cycle, it takes a lot of emotional and physical power to do so. But not impossible with a bit of hard work and grit. Consistency is what gives mastery.
Stop procrastinating:
Even when we know we’re doing it, procrastination can still have a powerful effect over our actions and even our work. Things that can help include:
- Having a time and place where you work on your goals. Being intentional with your progress.
- Set small goals and keep a diary to ensure you’re hitting them.
- Find ways to hold yourself accountable.
It’s okay to brush off tasks from time to time. Don’t beat yourself up for pushing something off for another day. The point, however, is to not make it a habit.
Know your “why”:
Why did you want to change in the first place? What motivated you to want to seek personal development? Usually, it’s because we know something needs to change. Or our habits and lifestyle are starting to disrupt our lives in ways we’re uncomfortable with.
Keeping our “why” front and center can be the drive we need. Write it down – doing so 10 times ‘cement’s this into the brain. Say your why every day to yourself out loud. Let it inspire your journey of self-development.
Physical health:
Our physical health impacts our mental and emotional health. It can literally give us the energy to keep fighting for personal development. Good physical health is tied to every area of our lives. Making it a priority can only benefit you in the long term.
Turn bad habits into good ones:
If first thing in the morning you reach for your phone, why not reach for a book instead? Or practice breathing meditation before you start your day; praying or journaling are also great ways to give calm and prime your brain to start the day off productively.
Having these slower starts to your mornings will help you feel calmer and better prepared to take on the day.
Read self-help books:
Self-help books, articles, podcasts, Ted Talks and the like can be such powerful tools in your toolbox. No doubt you can find someone who’s lived through a similar experience as you, or who has walked the path you desire to go. You can focus on enhancing your skills these ways, such as improving your communication or building relationships.
Tapping into the knowledge of others can help you recognize areas in your own life that can be improved upon. It can help you recognize problems before they become a real stressor.
By striving to make these steps a daily practice, no doubt your personal development will flourish and you will succeed in all areas of your life, both personally and professionally. Success can be yours with the right practices and routines.
“We can’t become what we need to be by remaining what we are.” – Oprah Winfrey