10 STEPS TO CREATE A PERSONAL GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT PLAN

How your mind works and why it’s really important to spend some time each day sorting it. When thoughts go rogue so do you. And that’s not great. The great news is that if you change one small thing in the way you think and the level at which you think everything in your life improves. The challenge then is to prevent your thinking from dropping back into old patterns when you relax because you’re enjoying yourself. The greatest challenge for people is to work on themselves and sustain mental and emotional acuity when they’re happy. It’s usually when we achieve the things we set out to achieve that we relax and become complacent and then of course trouble starts. So let’s keep this maintenance going keep you inspired and help you be the very best you can be.

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10 STEPS TO CREATE A PERSONAL GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT PLAN

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1. SCORE YOURSELF ON THE WHEEL OF LIFE.

If I asked you to score yourself on a 1 – 10 against each of the 7 areas of life (where 10 is blissfully happy and content and 1 is suicidally depressed) how would this look?So your ‘VIP’ score would be the total of the seven scores. What is it? Interesting. Are you happy with that?

The normal reaction for people in a funk (low scores below 5 in any area of life) is to focus solely on one or two of these areas of life. For example, if you are down in career, you might turn to a coach. Down in health, you might end up at a gym or personal trainer. Mentally down you might start meditating, and so on.The problem with this is that as one aspect grows, another shrinks. You’re unfulfilled at work so you decide to drive harder but as a result, your family and love-life suffers. Or if your finances are struggling you might start worrying about money and ignore your health. Your overall VIP score of doesn’t change, it simply changes shape. Old problems may go away, new ones appear.Have you seen this happen to anyone you know?2. IDENTIFY WHAT YOU REALLY WANT FOR YOUR PERSONAL GROWTH.In each of the seven areas the first step in developing a personal growth plan is thinking about what you really want. Ask yourself these questions: what would make that VIP score 10/10 in each area? What are the results you crave? What is the ultimate desired outcome for your pursuit in each area? You need to clarify what you want to create your personal growth and development plan. Do you want to get promoted at the office? Strengthen your romantic relationship? Feel stronger and healthier? Whatever your personal growth goal is, name it.3. DISCOVER THE DEEPER “WHY”Once you have a clear outcome in mind, think about your reasons behind the goal. At first glance, you may think it’s just because you want to feel better about yourself or find ways to build yourself up. These are all important factors, but to really take your growth to the next level, you have to dig a little deeper.To understand how to continue your targeted learning, you need to challenge yourself to think of a larger “why.” Do you want a promotion so you can better provide for your family? Will a stronger romantic relationship lead to greater happiness and productivity in your life? Does being in better shape allow you to give back to your community more thoroughly?By recognizing that you’re driven by factors larger than yourself, you’ll feel more encouraged to take on the task at hand and really commit to your personal growth plan. Your reasons need to be clear and compelling and they need to help you focus on what achieving your personal growth will mean to your way of life. When you do this, you stop pushing yourself toward a goal. Instead, you are pulled toward that goal with passion.4. PINPOINT OBSTACLES IN YOUR PERSONAL GROWTH PLANNow you need to take a look at what’s getting in your way. Many people see challenges as obstacles that are keeping them from following their personal growth plan when they’re actually opportunities. Take a look at what you perceive as roadblocks on your path and see how you can remove them – or reframe and use them to get you closer to your objectives.It’s easy to believe that not having an advanced degree in your industry is a roadblock, but when you’re really honest with yourself, perhaps there are more insidious obstacles in your way. Maybe you just don’t have passion for your industry. This challenge is actually encouraging you to take a different path and explore a career that means more to you. You don’t have to choose between passion and profitability – when you follow your calling, you can have both.5. GET THE TOOLS AND COACHING YOU NEEDIt’s okay to ask for help. Acknowledging that you can create a personal growth plan all on your own is the first step but if it’s still sitting in your computer in 12 months time, you might be wise to seek a coach. Many of the world’s most successful people turn to external tools and strategies when they embark on their path to personal growth. Check out the best personal growth books, turn to stories or quotes you find inspiring or find a mentor who empowers you. You can also work with a personal growth coach who can help you clarify your plan and develop the best strategy to achieve it. And that’s where Chris comes in.If you can’t access a mentor, identify someone you admire and study their choices. Use Chris’ words as a guide: “If you want to be successful, find someone who has achieved the results you want and copy what they do and you’ll achieve the same results.” How did they find success? How do they approach their daily responsibilities? What path did they take to personal growth? Whether this is someone who’s famous or someone close to you, by using tools and tapping into the success of others, you’ll more easily develop your own path to success.6. MAKE SURE YOU’RE IN ALIGNMENT WITH YOUR PERSONAL GROWTH GOALSThere’s more to personal growth than setting goals and then working hard to achieve them. Many of us suffer from inner conflicts that lead to self-sabotage. We must first unlock these conflicts and get ourselves into alignment before we can take the next step toward our personal growth plan. Abiding by the law of nature can help to achieve alignment.Once you are aligned, you will find yourself taking action that leads to success. You’ll focus on what you really want and know, deep down, that you deserve to have the personal growth and successful life you are striving toward.7. WRITE IT ALL DOWNKeeping track of your personal growth plan in your head is difficult. It’s easy to make little changes and adjustments that keep you from achieving your goals. When you write it down, you have visual proof of your original plan and you can re-read it as many times as you need to. Writing down your plan and tracking your progress also helps you increase focus and limit distractions.The world can be a noisy place and it’s very easy for your mind to fill with chatter. Having a written plan turns down that noise and brings you back to center. Some integrative systems like Chris’ 30 day challenge journal have tracking built in that helps create purpose, maintain
momentum and feel an enormous sense of fulfilment throughout your personal growth adventure.8. CELEBRATE YOUR SUCCESSESDon’t wait until you accomplish all your goals to celebrate. When you make progress on any part of your personal growth plan, take time to recognise it. You can perform little acts of self-care like getting a massage or treating yourself to some uninterrupted time with your favorite activities. Increase your enjoyment of the celebration by sharing it with someone else who is aware of your personal growth journey. This increases connection and makes your progress that much more rewarding.Although the road to change feels long at the onset, as you keep track of your personal growth over time, you’ll be inspired to continue. Celebrate small milestones in your personal growth journey, and don’t let yourself become discouraged if you reach a hiccup in your plan. As Chris lays out in Back on Your Bike, it’s crucial to appreciate the work you’ve already put in as you continue on your personal growth journey.9. FOLLOW THROUGH AND HOLD YOURSELF ACCOUNTABLEKeep yourself accountable to your personal growth goals by regularly updating a close friend or family member on your progress. You can also work with a health coach or other type of professional accountability partner who can help you stay on track and modify your plan when necessary. It’s often beneficial for those working on personal growth to partner with another person who is working on their own plan. This allows you to go on the journey together and provide support and encouragement.10. ESTABLISH YOUR PERSONAL GROWTH GOALS TODAYEveryone has the power to change their lives for the better. Whether you seek further fulfillment in your personal or professional life, the first step is deciding you’re ready to commit to a personal growth and development plan. With this growth plan, you will never have to compare yourself to others again. This will then lead to clarifying your true reason for wanting to change, seeking out the best tools to get you there and then keeping track of your progress along the way.As Chris says, “If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.” Start making changes in your life today, and you’ll soon start seeing the results you’ve always wanted.To see which resources you can get started with today, at home, see our VIP Resources page.