Robin Sharma, author of The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, said it best. “Investing in yourself is the best investment you will ever make. It will not only improve your life, it will improve the lives of all those around you.”
It’s not selfish to sit at home one night and make it all about you. Indeed, a personal development plan has the power to remove that feeling of restlessness you’ve been unable to shake.
With only a pen and a plan, you can turn this life into that vision you only allow yourself to dream about. Ready to develop a personal growth plan that will shift your entire universe?
Select An Area of Focus
What area of life do you keep circling back to? Does it fall under the category of mind, body, or spirit? Are you looking to make a career change? Start a new clean eating regimen? Practice gratitude? Learn patience?
Begin by writing down all your goals. Have some fun and call them dreams. Keep going until you run out of ideas. Then, circle back and prioritize them.
Which one is the most important? Which one should come first? Once you’ve selected the most critical goal or attainable dream, you’ve selected your area of focus.
Make Sure Your Goal Is Attainable
Setting the goal to become a millionaire by next Friday when you currently earn $32,000/year is not your best bet. However, you can set the goal to increase your monthly income by 15%.
Now, you have a goal that’s not only attainable; it’s specific. This will allow you to outline the clear steps you’ll take to materialize your biggest dream.
Outline Concrete Actions
Whether your goal is to earn 15% more per year or lose 50% of your total body weight, the actions required to achieve your goal must be well-laid out. Will you start job hunting on Monday morning? Will you apply to 15 new positions each day?
Or, if your focus is weight loss, will you start researching local nutritionists on Monday to set up appointments? Will you enroll in some sort of formal weight loss program that offers accountability? Set specific hours, specific dates, and make sure each goal is attainable.
Record Your Progress
There’s an entire industry out there devoted to self-improvement. Consider buying a journal that will help you track your success. Or, download an app that will help you record your progress.
You have to be able to visualize the steps you’ve taken and see what progress they’ve provided. This will also allow you to determine which steps are fruitless and, therefore, ready for a replacement.
Best of all, being able to see your progress will provide you with the kind of motivation that’ll help you continue to move those mountains.
The Key to Your Personal Development Plan
The key to your personal development plan is you. You’ve only got this one life to live and it doesn’t last forever. Why not invest in yourself and fulfill a vision you only ever dream about?
The only things in life that are hard are the things we say are hard. Today, make a vow to choose yourself and know that your life is now limitless.