4 Positive Actions to Target Your Personal Growth and Development

4 Areas of Personal Growth to Work on.

One of my favourite personal growth and creative thinking books is “A Wack on the Side of the Head” by Roger von Oech.

My subject here is more in the line of “A Kick in the Seat of the Pants” which,  for some strange reason, we all seem to need every now and again to keep us on the straight and narrow.

It goes without saying…..we all have areas where we want to improve; health and fitness, work, family, you name it.

But then reality sets in along with a busy daily schedule that doesn’t leave any space for some personal quite time; let alone individual personal development and growth.

Also, we rarely have the willpower we need to see it through.

Or maybe we just don’t know where or how to start.

Well here’s a book which accentuates that being great doesn’t happen by chance – written by Ritchie Gibson, a good friend of mine. It is a book that will help change your thinking about how you see yourself and encourages you how to be stronger than your fears …..Be You, Be Great – it is literally a blueprint for success – your success!

Not being able to define your own long-term goals will end up in a life that’s devoid of meaning or direction.

And unfortunately, for many people, the self-discipline needed to attain these goals is something that continually seems to be just out of reach…..so let me help you a bit more here.

Rebecca, a very helpful lady I came across from the Self Development Secrets site was also frustrated by her lack of self-discipline. But over time she came up with some great solutions – read Rebecca’s 10 Ways to Develop Self Discipline.

Another thing that happens is, you start losing that spark and the motivation to get up and get going each morning – it wanes with each new day.

Experts define your personal growth plan as “the process of creating an action plan based on awareness, values, reflection, goal-setting and planning for personal development within the context of a career, education, relationship or for self-improvement.”

An individualised growth plan can help you achieve the vision you have of yourself.

It’s something we all need to consciously think about and strive toward. If you don’t plan your own development and growth, I guarantee no one else will.

4 simple steps you can take for a well-developed, easy-to-implement, personal growth plan.

1. Get to Know Yourself

To plan for the future, you have to reflect on your past experiences and get to know and accept your weaknesses and strengths; they’ve made you who you are today.

You also have to clarify your own unique values, such as integrity, respect for others, leadership, honesty.

Your values define your stance whether it’s at the workplace, with family and friends, and even in your romantic relationships.

Moreover, there are several important questions you have to ask yourself:

• What do I want to become in life?

• What are my achievements up until now?

• What are my personal goals?

• What are my career ambitions?

• What steps have I taken to pursue these goals and ambitions?

Why not get a pen and a piece of paper and answer those 5 questions right now. File it somewhere handy and do it again each month…..then you can see over time how you are growing.

If nothing is changing for you after a few months then you need to take heed of what is often attributed to Albert Einstein but is actually incorrect as you will see here from this Business Insider Australia article: “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” — not Albert Einstein.

Different versions of this quote appear everywhere (doing the same thing twice, expecting the same result, etc.), and we owe none of them to Einstein.

After Michael Becker, an editor at the Bozeman Daily Chronicle (a local paper in Montana), let the wrong version slide into an editorial, he did some research on his personal blog.

Becker traced the original back to Rita Mae Brown, the mystery novelist.

In her 1983 book “Sudden Death,” she attributes the quote to a fictional “Jane Fulton,” writing, “Unfortunately, Susan didn’t remember what Jane Fulton once said. ‘Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.’”

Now, go throw away half your coffee mugs and inspirational posters.

So there you have it……an interesting little digression to contemplate.

2. Develop your vision – I often call it my dream

Once you’ve asked and answered these questions, you’ll have a clear vision of who you are and what you want out of life.

This takes us to the second step; developing your vision.

A smart tip is to provide yourself with several options to reach your next goal.

That way, if something goes wrong or you face an obstacle, you can switch to another path. This is important because if there is one constant in life, that most of us don’t like, it is change.

As the old saying goes…..if you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change the way you think about it.

Be flexible in your planning because usually people tend to underestimate how long a certain project will take.

If you think about something important like your health and fitness then you have a lifelong project on your hands…..and this is where HABIT comes in.

Another point people tend to not pay attention to is what they don’t want to do.

If you’re at work, you can make a list of what-not-to-do, for example:

• Check emails as soon as they come in

• Keep too many tabs open at once

• Keep your mobile/cell phone on your desk

• Check social media while you’re working

3. Where am I? Assess your present-day situation

Implementing your plan can be difficult at first.

But with dedication and an eye on the prize, you’ll soon find that it becomes a daily habit.

It was Jim Ryun who said, “Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.”

Putting your strengths to good use will harness your energy levels so that it’s utilized efficiently.

You can set up milestones along the way because smaller goals give you the motivation and drive you need to get to the big ones.

And each time you reach a milestone or achieve one of the small goals, reward yourself for your hard work.

Always think about goals being small and achievable – if you improve just 1% each day then in 100 days you will have improved by 100% – now that is achievable.

4. Always Review Your Progress……

……and be prepared to change direction when needed.

Each project you engage in needs to be reviewed and assessed, and your exclusive personal development and growth plan is no different.

You can do it on a monthly basis, or every couple of months, whatever feels comfortable for you.

But it’s crucial that you take a step back and look at all the hard work you’ve accomplished.

Check to see if you’ve left anything out or missed any deadlines.

Or maybe the mini-goals you set up last time don’t fit your criteria any longer, they need tweaking or readjusting.

Reflect on your experience and consider everything you’ve learned. This will ensure that you keep moving forward in accord with your long-term plan and the vision you’ve set up for yourself.

You can draw up the perfect plan but if you don’t take action and follow through, you won’t get anywhere.

Progress and good results always come when they are action based.

Everyone needs practice to develop and grow, even if it means stepping out of your comfort zone.

Having something to strive toward will renew your self-confidence and passion for life.

These four steps above to improving your personal growth and development are just a starting point for you to consider in your long term pursuit of personal growth and being a happier you.

Over the years, there is something else I have noticed that holds many of us back; and that is, the problem of overanalyzing everything that happens to us on a day to day basis.

Here’s something to help you with this issue too…….

4 Ways to Help Stop Overanalyzing Everything

What is the one thing that holds people back from accomplishing things in their life that they really want to do?

Overanalyzing everything.

Something that most of us have been guilty of at some time in our lives

It stems from overthinking every little problem until each one becomes a much larger perceived problem, and then becomes way too scary to do.

The other side of overthinking is, breaking down what would be a positive thing so far, that it is now a negative thing and is also too scary to do.

People with this tendency never allow themselves to enjoy the happiness of the moment because everything they attempt to do has to be scripted to the nth degree.

They are so busy overanalyzing and deconstructing everything before it happens that it ends up not happening.

This situation is often referred to as paralysis by analysis.

In other words, something gets analyzed (overanalyzed) to the point where it doesn’t get done at all.

What should be clarified here is, there is a difference between thinking things through and over analysis.

It is prudent in many cases to think things through to make sure all the bases are covered.

The difference is, people who think things through first end up doing them, whereas people who over analyze end up not following through.

To help overcome this problem, let’s look at four ways of overcoming it…

1) Look at things from a wider perspective

Before counting something out as not doing it, ask yourself how (or if) it will matter in 5 years from now or even in a few weeks from now.

If it is something that is short-lived, avoid overthinking it and just do it!

2) Limit the time to make decisions

For people having a tendency to overanalyze something, having an unlimited amount of time to come to a decision may result in not making a decision at all – paralysis by analysis.

For small decisions, limit the decision time to 30 seconds or less; for larger decisions, allow 30 minutes to a few hours depending on the scope and importance of the issue needing deciding.

Setting a time limit makes you come to a decision one way or the other.

“The more you overthink the less you will understand.” ― Habeeb Akande

3) Reduce stress

Here are some things that help reduce stress:

• Start your day on a positive note. It usually sets the tone for the rest of the day.

• If you haven’t already, break down larger tasks into smaller chunks (how do you eat an elephant? One chunk at a time).

• Take regular breaks. It helps clear the mind and once back at your work, things look different and usually more positive.

• Avoid information overload. Force yourself to look at emails when you get to work, mid-day and before going home for the day. Otherwise all your time is spent dealing with emails and not doing the work you should have done by the end of the day.

• Lay out the schedule for the next day before leaving work for the day. That way you can start organized the next day and avoid spinning your wheels.

4) Realize you can’t control everything

You simply can’t. So just accept the fact. End of story!

So, it is better to devote your time to dealing with the things you can control and not waste time on the things you can’t.

If you don’t, in the end you just get frustrated because of all the time you wasted that did not improve the situation.

So we have just seen another 4 ways you can start using today to stop, or at least lessen, the amount of time spent overanalyzing everything.

By implementing these 4 steps for overanalyzing things as well as 4 steps to target your personal growth and development, you will now be in a position to get more done and spend less time spinning your wheels.

Everyone needs practice to develop and grow, even if it means stepping out of your comfort zone.

Having something to strive toward will renew your self-confidence and passion for life.

Cheers – John – your Active Ageing Mentor and Coach.

P.S. Help a friend find a better life…..like and share – thanks.

“The best teachers are those who show you where to look, but don’t tell you what to see.” – Alexandra K Trenfor