What is personal
development? It may not
be what you think it is.

Personal development is the internal growth and development of a person. It really has nothing to do with the outside world. Personal development is literally an inside job. It's how you see and react to the world around YOU.

Your internal state determines how you react to negativity, how you respond to criticisms, how hard you push yourself, and what you believe you are capable of accomplishing.

So what IS personal development?

It’s personal growth. It’s personal recognition. Personal strength. Personal power. Personal acceptance. It’s the development of self.

Now that you know what it is, how do you fit it in to your daily life? Good question.

You start by becoming aware of yourself.

• Are you moody?
  
• Do you react to life? Or do you calmly respond? The difference can be huge.
  
• Do you ware a smile or a frown?
  
• Have you read a personal development article today? Yesterday? Last week? C’mon last month?
  
• Do you have written goals?
  
• Do you keep a personal development journal?
  
• What is personal development to you?
• How do you measure your growth?
  
• Do you play well with others?
  

I did not ask you these questions to make you sad or moody. If you answered no to most or all of them, then you have a great starting point to build and improve on.

Because I believe that self-awareness is more powerful then knowledge. And so is action. Knowledge will deepen or feed your thirst for information, but awareness and action will help you change life situations that you’re unhappy with.

Personal development is the foundation for change. And the above questions are just the starting point for you to get to know yourself.

Once you know yourself, you can begin to change, modify or remove any habit or thought you’re currently doing or thinking that is keeping you stuck on the rollercoaster of life.

Now allow me to help you get off that rollercoaster and begin to make positive and permanent change in your life.

First off…

Read something motivational or inspirational every day. This could be an article, a   poem or a chapter from a personal development book.

Please try not to read the news first thing in the morning. Most of the time this will not brighten your day. But reading something positive and uplifting for 15 to 30 minutes each morning will get you started in the right direction.

Make a journal entry. This can be anything from – feeling sluggish and moody today because I got up late and had to rush around – to having a fanamial day today and loving life.

These journal entries will be a great reference tool for you when you start to notice big changes in your attitude and personality. You’ll be able to look back and know the process you went through to break old habits and negative beliefs.

It’s your very own personal development book!

Finally…

Lay the foundation to develop a positive, uplifting and rewarding daily habit. This can be anything that makes you feel good and inspirered.

Like getting up 15 minutes earlier to exercise or read or pray. Going to bed 30 minutes earlier to get a good nights rest. Not eating junk food. Cutting down on the amount of TV you watch in a day.

Anything that makes you feel better about yourself would work here.

Okay that’s enough for now. These action steps may seem easy to do and unimportant right now because of their simplicity but be carful because they’ll also be easy not to do and for personal development there essential.

When you’re first starting out it’s best not to overload yourself by trying to do too much too soon. Start one new habit at a time and build on that habit. Expand it to include more and more action into your daily life that makes you feel good about yourself.

Really try to stick to the basics or the fundamentals of personal development in the early days. These 3 steps will help you determine what personal development is to you.

These steps will help you build your self esteem, grow in self confidence and point your life in a whole new direction.

Seriously you’ll be amazed at just how much better you will feel about yourself when you’re taking action and disciplining yourself to become more.

After you have had some time to do the above personal development activities, come back to the question that started this article, “what is personal development?” But this time notice your awareness and acceptance and understanding of its importance on your life.

I wish you all the best…and never stop growing.

And don't forget to leave a comment below about the amazing changes that are happening in your life.

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