Personal Development Plan – 8 Ways To Improve Your Life Today
Having a personal development plan is the best! Here are 8 ways to incorporate the best self help strategies into your day.
Let’s chat about a personal development plan.
So if you are anything like me, it’s easy to get super excited after reading another self-help book.
You read some life-transforming advice and think YES, this is it!
My life is about to change forever.
But then you learn the truth – that it’s a lot more challenging to actually implement those ideas into your life.
I mean, where do you start?
How do you make time to take action on what you learn?
How do you even integrate those new lessons into your life?
Just so you know – if you learn something new it’s important to actually apply the information, because nothing changes in your life just because your knowledge changes.
Reread that sentence again.
Nothing changes just because your knowledge changes!
In order to change, your behavior must change.
Sure, knowledge is power but without action, information that’s not acted upon is worthless.
Consider the following 8 tips to help you incorporate more self-help strategies in your life:
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN
TIP # 1 – Use the power of habits. At the end of the day, the ultimate key to changing your life for the better is to create a few great habits.
- For example, understanding how to lose weight isn’t that valuable. It’s using that information to change your dietary habits that really matters.
- Take the knowledge you’ve accumulated and identify the most important habits you could create. Building the right habits all but guarantees your success.
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. Aristotle
If you want to change your world, you need to start cultivating good habits. Mina Tadros
If you are going to achieve excellence in big things, you develop the habit in little matters. Excellence is not an exception, it is a prevailing attitude. Colin Powell
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN
TIP # 2 – Have a plan for the day.
Without a plan, you’ll never accomplish as much as you could.
This is why it is important to have a plan because a goal without a plan is just a wish.
Plan on how you’ll use your self-help strategies each day.
Always have a plan and believe in it because nothing happens by accident.
Use the evenings to make your plan and the day to work your plan. You can always change your plan, but only if you have one.
Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? Mary Oliver
If you don’t have a plan, days turn into weeks, weeks turn into months, months turn into years and before you know it you’re looking back saying, I should’ve had a plan. Phil McGraw
If you don’t have a plan for yourself, you’ll be a part of someone else’s. Proverb.
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN
TIP # 3 – Be mindful.
Self-awareness is also critical in any self-help endeavor.
Be aware of your thoughts and actions at all times.
Avoid operating on autopilot.
You can’t address what you fail to notice.
Open your mind to the world around you and your own thoughts, beliefs and actions.
Be mindful of how you treat people.
Be mindful of how you handle things.
Be mindful of your intentions.
Simply be mindful.
Our life is shaped by our mind, for we become what we think. Buddha
Mindfulness isn’t difficult, we just need to remember to do it. Sharon Salzberg
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN
TIP # 4 – Look for the best opportunities to practice what you’ve learned.
Think about your life and when you can apply the new self-help knowledge you have learned. Opportunities are everywhere!
- For example, suppose you’re working on your small-talk skills. What are the most convenient times to work on those skills each day?
- In the morning? On your way to work? During lunch time or your afternoon break? You need to come up with a plan ahead of time.
- In the middle of every difficulty lies an opportunity. Alternatively, if an opportunity doesn’t knock you need to build a door. Some opportunities don’t just naturally fall into your lap – YOU NEED TO CREATE THEM!
Additional tips:
If somebody offers you an amazing opportunity but you are not sure you can do it, say yes and learn to do it later. Seize the moment because some opportunities don’t come twice.
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN
TIP # 5 – Choose a challenge and address it.
Ask yourself now: what is the most limiting aspect of your life?
Is it your fitness?
Finances?
A lack of a social circle?
Now imagine enhancing that part of your life and notice how it feels.
- Which area of your life, if improved, would have the biggest impact?
- That’s obviously the aspect of your life you want to address. Now ask yourself: how can the self-help strategies you have learned be applied to that area of your life? How can you create a change using this new knowledge?
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN
TIP # 6 – Reward your efforts.
When you put in a good day, please don’t forget to give yourself a reward at the end of it.
You deserve it!
This reward can be as simple as taking a warm bath or purchasing a new book.
Whatever the case, it makes sense that a simple reward follows work, even if it’s just by taking a break.
We reward kids all the time for good behavior and you deserve it too.
For example if you planned on speaking to three new people today and you did it (yay, you!), make sure to remember to pat yourself on the back for your efforts.
This might involve treating yourself to your favorite beverage while listening to your favorite song. It doesn’t need to be expensive.
Find a reward that you love that won’t break the bank.
Repeat after me: it’s okay to reward myself; it’s okay to reward myself when I deserve some recognition.
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN
TIP # 7 – Shake things up.
Changing a part of your life can be easier if you get out of your routine and shake things up.
Maybe this involves changing your wardrobe or your hairstyle, or taking a different route to work or rearranging your décor at home.
This may seem like a frivolous suggestion but trust me – making even small changes disrupts the predictable pattern of your life and makes you LOOK at things differently.
Feel free to participate in some new activities, make some new friends or just generally step outside your comfort zone.
- Give yourself a new perspective on life, and you might find that changing your target area is less intimidating.
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN
TIP # 8 – Evaluate your results and find ways to build on them.
It needs to be said: it’s not enough to just make a few changes.
To get the most from your efforts, it’s necessary to evaluate your results and fine-tune your approach until you’ve maximized your results.
Notice what’s working and what isn’t.
Have you actually noticed some obvious change or progress in your life?
How have things improved and have they gotten worse in any way?
Remember not every self-help strategy you choose to implement in your life will work.
Sometimes you will make a wrong guess or assumption about how to advance your life and it doesn’t quite work out the way you intended it too.
That’s okay.
What’s not okay though is failing to notice that it’s not helping and continuing to do it.
Gathering information about its impact is fairly simple once you open your eyes and PAY ATTENTION.
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN
The real challenge comes later when you need to decide how to use that information to change your behavior and your life.
In the end it is up to you, my friend, to do what works best for you.
I encourage you to look for opportunities in your life to apply what you’ve learned from all the fabulous self-help material available.
Don’t be afraid to give it all a go.
Try and fail but never be afraid to try.
The fact that you aren’t where you want to be should be enough motivation to fuel your fire each day.
Just follow the steps listed in this post:
Have a plan for each day and follow your plan.
Identify the part of your life that can use the most work and experiment with new habits. Reward your efforts.
Review your results.
Apply what you know, and your life will change for the better.
I wish you the best of luck with this endeavor!
Ready to take the next step?
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Hey, I’m Frances Vidakovic! I help you live a richer, lighter life while pursuing dreamy goals – without sacrificing your soul, sanity or family life. 🫶🏻 Author. Coach. Course Creator. DON’T DIE UNHAPPY! → Wake up. Do what matters. Savour it all 🌷