You’re either moving up or down, there’s no in-between; how do you make sure you’re consistently Improving?
I found personal development both exciting and overwhelming… Through testing and experiencing countless strategies I’ve broken down 5 key principles:
1.Be goal orientated – This means having the clarity to see the end outcome (i.e Visualising yourself with that new car or £10,000 extra income)… Don’t be the person who works on being busy, hoping things will just happen; Be in command and steer your ship to the new destination. Once you do this, measuring your progress becomes so much easier (think of a captain navigating the seas vs a ship with no planned course getting tossed by the waves in any direction)
2.Be accountable – When was the last time you made a decision based on emotion? The brand new iPhone or the holiday trip to the Caribbean (pleasurable things) ; on the flip side: Breaking up with your girlfriend after she’s cheated on you or quitting your job after suffering every day (painful things). Think back to when you had a similar Stimulus… You’ll find soon after the event happened both pleasure and pain triggered you into taking action, find what emotions can work for you.
3.Be Decisive – You cannot be right 100% of the time, that’s a fact! It’s better to learn and fail rather than do nothing. Exercise your decision-making muscle by giving yourself the 3-second rule … 3…2…1… then decide yes or no OR pizza or sushi etc… with every decision… reset the countdown until you decide.
4.Learn how to prioritise – I’m sure you have endless todo lists… A better way is to focus on 3 to 4 tasks per day, Filtering out the important, urgent and not important (ask yourself what’s the purpose and will these get me closer to my goals)… Set out 5/10 minutes every day to organise these.
5.Be willing to do whatever it takes – Be willing to push outside your comfort zone, be willing to be comfortable being uncomfortable… Are you happy to settle? What fuel is driving you forward? It’s very easy to be satisfied with that new job promotion or your current business profits. Accept that life is a never-ending cycle of upward progress and align yourself with it; If you become content with where you are, by default you’ll be moving backwards.
These 5 points are a great starting point for someone just getting into personal development and good reflection for people already acclimated to personal development. Share these ideas and discuss them with someone on the same path as you.
I firmly believe if you incorporate these principles into your life you will see change… I’ve mentioned the 5 principles because they’ve changed mine would love to hear your principles that have impacted your life.