What Is Personal Development
Personal development involves a lifelong-process associated with developing yourself. It also offers you with the privilege to discover who you really are and to relate to other people around you. Personal development should be focused on a process which assists you in becoming the best that you can be.
Life may force you to grow, but you need to be open to learn lessons that you encounter throughout your life. When we were younger, most us do not realize how challenges, relationships, maturity, and time shapes us into a person that is more resilient, stronger and wiser.
Personal development is a valuable and important endeavor that you should be working on every day. This is because we as humans never stop the process of evolving as people. You will carry on developing and growing throughout life, and this is even truer when you stay receptive and open to new ideas and change.
Here are some of the best personal development tips that can assist you along your own personal development journey.
Self-Acceptance
Self-acceptance is known as a virtue. The act of accepting that you are deserving of change is one of the most important principles when it comes to developing yourself. Learn from all the experiences you have had up until now. In order to move to the next level in your life, you have to start taking responsibility for everything that happens to you.
Try To Do Something Daily That Takes You Out Of Your Comfort Zone
This could involve approaching a stranger in the parking lot of your local grocery store and paying the person a compliment or talking to a person who works in your ideal job and asking them questions about what steps they took to get there. Anything which makes you step away from the ordinary a little bit at a time will assist you in growing, especially when you start this practice every day. Once you start to feel comfortable about being uncomfortable, new opportunities and doors will start to open for you.
Set Short-Term Realistic Goals
Goals that you set need to be smart, which means time-bound, realistic, attainable, measurable and specific. Avoid setting goals that are impossible to reach within a specific time-frame. Rather set goals that follow a step by step pattern. An example of this may be if you would like to start reading at least 10 books within a year, start by reading 1 book each month. If you follow your plan you should easily finish the 10 books before the end of the year.
Read Books That You Would Normally Not Choose
Perhaps you prefer reading romance or mystery novels, as they are not taxing on the brain. Yet a portion of evolving is to remain a lifelong-learner. Rather than choosing the books which provide entertainment, look for books that are going to educate, enlighten or inform you.
You can start off by joining your local library and browse through books in categories that you usually wouldn’t pick. You will probably find there are a lot of new things you can learn about.
Know Yourself
If you are looking to really step it up a level with your life, you need to know exactly who you really are. When you know about yourself it provides a way to know about areas in your life that require improvements. Socrates one of the ancient philosophers once said, “an unexamined life is not worth living”. Until you find out who you really are, you will fail to make improvements.
Try Out New Hobbies
Finding a hobby, you have never tried before is fulfilling and fun, and you might even meet a few like-minded people along the way. Some examples may include something like hand quilting or something a bit more adventurous like ballroom dancing. It is important to think about the hobbies that you think might interest you and then pursue them. Learning something new will challenge you as a person and make you more interesting.
Meditation
Meditation will play its own unique role in the way that we develop. It assists you in examining your conscience, to gain emotional intelligence and clarity, control what you are thinking about and enjoy peace.
Smile Even When You Don’t Feel Like It
Smiling has a funny way of tricking the brain into thinking that you feel happy, even in situations when you aren’t. When you smile at yourself in a mirror, you will also start to feel happier. Practice smiling at others, yourself and try smiling as often as you can. This shows the world you are an optimistic and positive person and also brightens the days of people around you.
Show Kindness To Everyone That You Encounter
This can involve simple acts like picking up an item that somebody has dropped or holding the door open for someone behind you. Kindness has to do with “absence of apathy” and the “presence of empathy”. Practice becoming more interested in making others happy around you, and this includes strangers. It is also important to practice kindness that is mindful with your partner and your family, who are often people that we overlook, but happen to mean the most to us.
Hire A Mentor
Deciding to get an experienced mentor is an important way to develop yourself. The right mentor will teach you about the important principles when it comes to succeeding in your life in the way of sharing experiences related to others or their own life.
This will usually help you to learn from the mistakes they have made and how to avoid making the same errors in your life. Mentors will typically show you ways to actualize your potential a lot faster and help you on the road to success.
Limit How Much Time You Spend With People That Are Negative
You probably know which people in your life that often make you feel down or drained of your positivity and energy. People that are constantly negative are toxic. In addition, their belief systems and attitudes are also contagious. When your co-worker or friend is constantly complaining or negative, start to limit the amount of time that you spend with them. You really do not need this pessimism when you are focusing on personal development and growth.
Declutter Your Home
When it comes to decluttering, your home consider the 3-day rule. This involves thinking about items you would use if you were locked in your home for 3 days. If you have papers and magazines lying around that you never read, or clothes that you no longer wear or even DVDs that you haven’t watched in years, throw them out or give them away. The act of decluttering your home will make you feel great about yourself and you will end up with things that you really love or really need.
Be Grateful
Start focusing on developing an attitude that you are grateful for everything in your life. This can include everything that is currently good in your life, for things you received from loved ones or friends. Show these people that you are grateful for things they have given you. As you become more grateful, you will start to notice more opportunities coming your way.
Go On The Money Diet
Take at least one month to spend your money on only what you really need. This will mean avoiding any impulse buys, no buying clothes or going out for meals. Only pay your standard bills, your gas and the food you will need for the month. This process will assist you in saving money as well as teach you how much money you actually need to survive and still be happy.
Organize A Night Out With Your Closest Friends Every Month
Choose a date every month where you invite your friends for a night out together or a game-night at your home. Ask everyone to bring along snacks and enjoy the evening playing games and laughing while catching up with each other. These get togethers are important to maintain friendships and a way to unwind from the normal day to day stress of our lives.
Drink Your Tea Or Coffee Outside Every Morning
Instead of rushing through a cup of coffee on your way out the door in the mornings, take the time to go outdoors and listen to the surrounding nature. Observe your surroundings and try to be present in this moment before you start your day.
Start A Gratitude Journal
Start a journal where you write about what you are grateful for at the end of each day before you go to bed. Think about 5 or more things that you were grateful for that day regardless of how small you think they might be. This could include an interaction with another person, things that you own, or a new thing that you experienced or learned. Gratitude will help you to realize what you should be thankful for and is proven to improve overall feelings associated with happiness.
Consider That Nothing In Life Is Permanent
If you are currently going through a rough patch, this will pass. When you are experiencing something good, this might also pass. Avoid becoming absorbed in a current situation, regardless of what it may be. Everything does change eventually.
Listen To Others
You may be the type of person that quickly disregards the opinions of others, especially when the opinion is different to yours. But keep in mind, that what others are saying offers you with a way to learn about things. This has to do with the fact that you don’t know about everything. There is much you can gain when you listen to perspectives of others.
Stop Taking Life So Seriously
It is important to laugh and loosen up from time to time. The easiest way to achieve this is to not think about things that are negative in your life. Try to always focus on the positives in your life. In certain instances, it becomes difficult to laugh because you feel overwhelmed or stressed out. Yet you do have the control over how you react to things that happen to you and a way to focus on making things lighter.
Start Your Day Earlier
Start waking up 30 minutes to an hour earlier than you usually do every day. This gives you the opportunity to get more things done in the morning without feeling rushed. If your days starts out positive it usually sets the tone for the day. Take the time to complete tasks that are weighing you down or simply use this time to meditate before you go out into the world.
Keep Pushing Yourself
When you feel like you are ready to quit, now is the time to push that extra bit harder. You will find you are able accomplish a lot more than you thought you would. When you start to feel like you have hit the limit, regardless of what you are busy with, push just a bit more.
Maintain A Clear Workspace
Trying to work with clutter can become incredibly stressful. Pack away or throw away extra papers which lie around or the items you are not using every day. Aim to only have what you really need on the desk and find an area to store unnecessary items.
Learn To Say No
The word “no” is actually regarded as a complete sentence. As soon as you have learned when you should be saying no to people, the sooner you will have more energy and time to spend on yourself. When someone has asked you to help with something and your time is limited, don’t feel guilty about saying no. In addition, if a friend has asked you to go out and you feel exhausted, you should say no.
Your personal well-being and health is the most important thing in your life. When you find yourself saying yes to people when you actually mean no, people will start to use you or take advantage.
Learn To Live Below Your Means
You need to find a way to start spending less than what you make. Put any money that is leftover at the end of the month into a savings-account where you should start to save for bigger purchases that you would like to make into the future. Saving your money will also offer you with a safety net for life’s mishaps.
Leave Your Work At Work
This might be hard, particularly when you are passionate about the job. But it is essential to make the time for yourself and your family. At the same time if something has stressed you out during the day at work, avoid bringing this attitude home where it will affect your family and you.
Use Positive Affirmations
Short and to the point statements will motivate you through your days as well as prompt you to become a better version of yourself.
A few popular examples of the positive affirmations include:
– Everyday, in all ways I am becoming better-and-better
– I feel contentment and joy right now in this moment
– I have everything that I will ever need to become successful
Slow Down
Avoid rushing through your days and focus on savoring each moment. Like many people, you may be rushing from one activity or task to the next, just to go onto another one. Yet the pace that you may be moving at, stops you from taking the time to appreciate or experience what you are actually doing. Slow down, take enough time and focus on your breathing.
Avoid Comparing Yourself Or Your Life To Others
Constantly comparing the life of others to your own is a futile exercise. It will also foster all those negative emotions that include low self-esteem, shame, envy and jealousy. Stop focusing your attention on the things that other people own or have and rather focus on the goals you have set for yourself and ways that you can work towards achieving them.
This focus involves gratitude on everything that you do have and all the good thing about your life. This can include your career, health, your friends and family, the home that you own. Constantly work on acknowledging your own talents, positive qualities and your current skills.
Call A Close Friend
Get off social media or texting and call one of your closest friends for a catch up. Focus on a lengthy talk where you are able to share things and laugh. True conversations have become lost through the digital age that we live in today, yet you can revive this as a portion of your own personal development strategy.
Eliminate Unhealthy Foods From Your Diet
When you start eating better, you will start to feel better, and you will start to feel more motivated about caring for your well-being and health in other areas such as exercising. Go through your pantry and refrigerator and throw out processed and junk foods that are only harming your health. Start to focus on whole and real foods which will provide your body with fuel such as whole grains, fresh vegetable and fruits.
Accept Failure
When you fail it definitely leaves a sting, and most of us will do anything that we can to avoid these situations. Yet one of the important steps in personal growth is to understand the importance involved in failure. It is a process that involves refining and learning about our endeavors.
When failure does occur, do not resist it. Rather see it as the next stepping stone towards your success. Learn from your mistakes and what you have done wrong so that you can find ways to improve going into the future.
Focus On Forgiving First
Even in situations when you feel that another person was at fault, be the bigger person and forgive the person first. Do not allow misunderstandings and conflicts to deepen a rift or to fester. Be a healer and be the one to initiate making things right as soon as possible. Even if you are unable to make amends, it is still possible to forgive the person which will free you from burdens associated with anger and resentment.
Show Interest In Other People’s Experiences
Many people love talking about themselves. You can benefit from these talks by truly listening to what they have accomplished or gone through. Make sure you also ask questions that will show that you are curious and interested. When you show interest in what a person has to say it is regarded as a quality that is attractive and will also draw more people closer to you. There is not much else that is as flattering when someone offers sincere appreciation and enthusiasm associated with what you are saying.
Read Books That Motivate You
This is an easy method to get you inspired. A few of the more profound lightbulb moments often come from the insights that are shared by experts and leaders on the self-improvement topics. As you start to read more books your awareness will become more enhanced as well as stretch your current assumptions.
Become A Role Model
Start to become the person that others want to emulate or look up-to. Define what your values are and your integrity and start to become the living example of this definition.
In conclusion, keep in mind that personal development involves a process throughout your life. Regardless of what you may know or how fantastic your current skills are, there is always space for improvements in a number of areas in your personal life.
The act of focusing on personal development skills is one of the best ways to assess your skills as well as develop goals on what type of person you would like to become and how you would like to live in future years.
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