From a young age, we’re taught to focus on getting the grades, but I don’t remember any guidance on how to develop within. The necessity of improving our minds on a deeper, more profound level often goes unnoticed. Until we’re adults and we realise just how unprepared we are for the complexity and chaos of life. By consistently working on my personal development goals, I have been able to start remedying this. I still experience the ups and downs, but I’ve become more prepared for what life has to throw at me.
In this post, you’ll learn:
- What personal development goals are
- How to determine your personal development goals
- Benefits of putting your personal development goals into checklists
- Examples Of Personal Development Goals
What Are Personal Development Goals?
These are objectives or habits that you set for yourself in the name of personal growth. By creating a rainbow range of goals, you are able to heal and improve on a more holistic level.
How To Determine Your Personal Development Goals
So you may have ignited the personal development spark, but figuring out how to carry the torch is a whole other issue. This is where introspection comes in.
To determine the best goals for your journey, you have to take the time to self-reflect. It’s like the old saying goes, “The only way out is through.” If you look throughout this blog, you’ll learn what practices can help you do that. For me, I had to acknowledge the painful patterns that have developed within me and see where my behaviour was reaffirming those patterns and beliefs. I also flooded my mind with anything and everything that could help me change, because I was done with how life was.
The Benefits Of Putting Your Personal Development Goals Into Checklists
If, like me, your mind has been left unmanaged and this is seeping into your life, then creating checklists with your personal development goals has many benefits, including:
Structure
The framework of a checklist gives you the organisation you need to better meet your goals without feeling overwhelmed or forgetting a task. I look at each goal individually instead of taking the whole list in.
Consistency
By having a checklist to follow, you’ll be more likely to check in and stay on track. It really is true when they say, “Consistency is key.”
Routine
Some think following a routine makes life boring. But when it comes to reaching your personal development goals, I believe it is necessary. Life is stressful enough. But having a roadmap to follow that encourages, replenishes, and re-grounds you can help you better manage that stress.
Small Wins
This is a benefit. Each step, regardless of how small it seems, is an achievement. By creating a list of smaller, yet meaningful tasks, you are more likely to accomplish them. And each little win can help build your self-belief. Encouraging you to keep going, even on the days your motivation wavers.
At the moment, because I have a lot to heal, I go a step further with my checklist and organise my daily goals into morning, throughout the day, and evening tasks.
Examples Of Personal Development Goals
Increasing Your Mindfulness Will Help You Better Reach Your Personal Development Goals
This is a game-changer. Practices like meditation, breathwork, and somatic exercises truly help you become more in control of yourself. For example, you become less reactive because you’re better regulated, and you open up your awareness of yourself and the world around you.
Work On Loving Yourself
As cheesy as it sounds. One of the biggest limitations that has kept me stuck is my lack of love and compassion for myself. If you don’t believe you’re worthy, you’ll more likely continue doing things that reaffirm this. Which I did. I work on this through things like trauma healing practices, affirmations, and inspirational media and mediums (such as podcasts and books).
Embracing A Growth Mindset Will Help You Achieve Your Personal Development Goals
Your mind is a powerful tool. It can be harnessed to your advantage or used to your downfall.
Build Internal Resilience
What I’ve come to realise is that triggers will happen because the world can be a triggering place. We can’t control that. But what we can control is how it affects us.
Regularly Read
Reading regularly has many benefits, from strengthening your brain to expanding your knowledge. It also matters what you read. At the moment, I am making my way through the psychology and self-help books. I definitely recommend “The Brain Changes Itself” by Norman Doidge and “The Body Keeps The Score” by Bessel van der Kolk.
Understand Your Emotions With Emotional Check-Ins
For someone who has feared painful emotions, this helps me better understand them, regardless of what they are.
Be Selective About The Media You Take In
What we take in affects us. From endless scrolling of over-the-top body or lifestyle expectations to endless watching of the news, highlighting the terrors of the world. Yes, there is a lot of bad in the world, but there is also a lot of good! I now only follow accounts that make me feel better and inspire me to do better. And I try to watch things that feed my mind in a good way.
Work On Accepting Multiple Perspectives
This helps you become more flexible with different points of view and accept that not everyone has to think like you.
Get Out Of Your Comfort Zone
This doesn’t even have to be big. I struggle with feeling socially anxious at times, so I aim to smile at two strangers daily.
Build Self-Discipline
Motivation ebbs and flows. It’ll help you get started. But self-discipline is what will keep going when that motivation dips.
The list is endless, so keep an eye on this blog and check in with other posts.
Take The Little And Often Approach With Your Personal Development Goals
The habits and beliefs that have hindered our personal growth and healing tend to be deep-rooted. Which means it’ll take time and effort to dig them up. By fulfilling more manageable goals daily, we’re more likely to replant healthier patterns than if we set the bar impossibly high.
Remember, “Change Is Inevitable; Growth Is Optional.”
Do you have any personal development goals? I’d love to hear your story. Leave a comment or just fill out a contact form!
