I am spending this month writing about things I am grateful for. One of the things I am most grateful for is my personal development. It is funny how one of the things that I am most grateful for is one of the hardest things I have engaged in in my life.
It takes a lot of courage to face your personal obstacles, to admit them to yourself and to work to move past them. Or as they call them in some 12 step programs, and I love this term, defects of character. We all have them. It is so freeing to face them and work through them.
I believe there is no point to arrive at with your development- it is a life long commitment. But as a friend and I were talking about today- it is okay to takes breaks along the way- and necessary, too.
It is not all looking forward what is “wrong” either- looking for what is right in you is just as important, if not more so. I had a great person in one of my group sessions today who was having a hard time seeing what was good about her, even though we all know what an amazing person she is in many, many ways. This is good personal development work- to get to a place where you can see the good in yourself.
Some of the ways you can do personal development are:
Therapy
Coaching
Writing
Reading
Taking courses.
Having an accountability partner.
Creating a clear vision and goals and taking steps each week to accomplish them.
Reading
Engaging in a support group.
Affirmations
Taking on a challenge and then reflecting on it.
Implementing changes and experimenting in your life.
Living life with a reinvention mindset.
Go away on a retreat- short, or extended stay.
What else would you add to your list? What else has worked for you?
Start with something, expand something, but first define where you are now and write down what your vision is- where do you want to go next? Consider what you want to feel, think, experience, believe, let go of, take on……
Start with one step or add to something you are already doing and do it starting today.