There is a Chinese quote ascribed to Laozi
although sometimes also to Confucius that goes “a journey of a thousand miles
starts with a single step.” So it is when we set off on a journey of Personal
Development.
When you first start your personal development journey, it can be tempting to take short cuts. You think that you already know who you are, what you want, and what you stand for, and how to exemplify that. However, that’s not how the human mind works.
Often, we hide truths from ourselves and are not honest with ourselves about these issues. For this reason, the following ideas will hopefully help you think about how you approach starting your personal development journey so that you will succeed.
Don’t
Skip the SWOT – It’s imperative that you perform
analysis on yourself in every aspect of your life to find out what strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities, and threats you face for any of the target issues
you want to address. For example, if you perform a SWOT and realize that you’re
not very good at something, you then have a choice. You can find someone who is
to do it for you, or you can find training to learn to do it.
Nurture
Your Strengths – When you perform the SWOT for any
sector of your life, you’ll also identify your strengths. The best thing to do
in life is to choose to lead with your strengths. You want to keep doing the
things you’re strong at and learn to do them even better since you’re obviously
interested in those things.
Improve
Your Weaknesses – When you find out that you are
weak in some area, you’ll need to determine whether you should improve it
yourself or improve it by outsourcing it. To determine which is better, ask
yourself whether it really matters who does it or just that it is done.
Understand
The 3 Domains of Personal Development – They are, physical,
cognitive, and social-emotional. Together, these domains cover all aspects of
your life, including health, work, personal growth, spiritual life, and so
forth. Working on all aspects of your life usually is much better than focusing
only on one as they are sometimes indistinguishable.
Plan
for Action – As you work through crafting your plan,
nothing is done until you’ve set up action-packed steps and put them in your
calendar scheduled for you to implement them. Whether you are doing it yourself,
or outsourcing it, doing is the most
critical part of the plan.
Focus
on The Right Target Issue First – One reason it’s
helpful to go through every single domain and issue you have before setting up
a plan is that it helps you to know which issue to focus on first. For example,
you cannot write a novel until you can read, and you can’t learn to write until
you can read, first things first.
Be
Persistent – Once you have your action plan, which
is developed based on reality and not on how you wish it to be, you only now
need to be persistent and take the steps to success. It truly is that easy.
Once you have the steps scheduled in your calendar and you start implementing
them, your life will begin to change.
Get
a Coach – If you understand everything but your implementation
skills leave something more to be desired, you may want to employ a life coach
to help you. If you know some life coaches who specialize in personal
development, you might want to talk to them. If you don’t know anyone, ask your
colleagues for recommendations. It’s likely they will know someone or can
direct you to someone who would know more on the topic.
One thing to remember about personal
development is that it’s an ongoing process. You’re never done with it. There
is no real finish line. For this reason, it’s best to develop tenacity and
persistence as you follow the path you’ve created for yourself, adjusting as
you go based on facts, and learning about what is really and truly important to
you deep in your subconscious. It’s all about knowing who you are and living a
life that illustrates who you are.