Growth in every aspect of life is typically an exciting time. Dreaming about growth in our careers, our families, and our finances, just to name a few, is many times on our list of goals to achieve. But when we think deeper than just the surface level of our goals, there is Personal Development that has to take place in order to achieve them.
Let’s face it—making a conscious effort to truly develop ourselves is not an easy task; it is sometimes a full-blown journey. It requires a lot of our time, plenty of effort, and getting out of our comfort zone daily. But with all the negative realizations, comes the positive—IT IS WORTH IT. When we develop ourselves on purpose, we are opening the door to become a better version of ourselves. This in turn will help us achieve our goals, attract new opportunities, and be able to help others along their journey, too.
Here are 3 quick steps to kick-start your Personal Development journey!
- Pursue Self-Awareness. It is so important to understand how we think as individuals and “the why” behind what we do. For example, if we are overly sensitive to constructive criticism, why is that? How are we going to achieve something if we don’t want to hear what needs to be improved with our performance? We need to peel back the layers of why we feel that way, and project a plan that is going to help us accept it in a way that will grow us.
- Find the tools. Once we are aware of the area for growth within ourselves, we need to invest in it. There are so many free internet tools to utilize- from podcasts to YouTube videos, you can search key words that resonate with your area of development. I highly recommend watching and reading any content from Tony Robbins, the nation’s #1 Life and Business Strategist.
- Schedule it out. Knowing what content to focus on in our development is a must-but just as importantly is making sure we create a calendar to schedule when we are going to do it. We are all so busy with work and our personal lives but it has to fit somewhere. If you prefer a podcast, listen to it on your way to and from work. A lot of times that is an hour for most- an hour of our time geared toward personal development every day? You have no choice but to see growth within yourself!
With all of this being said, change does not happen overnight. We don’t reach our BIG GOALS in a week either. I encourage anyone who is truly dedicated to developing themselves to ENJOY the JOURNEY. You will look back and be so happy that you invested in yourself. Your manager, co-workers, and family will be happy as well!