Personal Development Plan

Are you where you want to be in your life? Have the dreams of youth been side tracked? Do you always feel like you are just trying to survive?  There must be a better way, is something you probably say to yourself frequently. Did you know that making a personal development plan can help you achieve your goals and put you in control of your life?

Simply put, a personal development plan is a map you develop that states the goals you have in your life and what you will do to attain these goals. Think of a personal development plan this way, if you were going to travel to a destination you had never visited before, would you need directions? Would the directions have a starting point and an ending point? Yes, of course they would. If you did not have a starting point and an ending point, you would wander aimlessly looking for your destination. It is the same in life. We must have goals; we must have a purpose, a destiny.

To make a personal development plan you will need to take the time to do some “soul searching.”  You want to really hone in on what you want changed in your life so it can be as specific as possible. Here are steps to use in developing a personal development plan:

# 1 – Don’t procrastinate.

If you want to make a personal development plan, then start to work on it immediately. One way to prevent procrastination is to break it down into small chunks. For example, take ½ hour and think about your goals for your life both personal goals and professional goals. Time yourself and stay focused. If you have trouble focusing for ½ an hour, that’s o.k., just break it down into a time that you can stay completely focused, if that is only 15 minutes, then work with that. The point here is to start somewhere. If you do this exercise and still feel there is more information you need, then take a break and try the exercise again.

# 2 – Personal Development Ideas

A great way to come up with ideas to enhance your personal development plan is to ask a trusted friend or advisor. Often those around us can make us think of things in a new light. For example, perhaps you really have a gift for teaching, but it’s never occurred to you, someone else may point that out to you.

# 3 – Don’t give up

As you start writing your personal development plan you may want to begin with one or two things. If you are trying to change multiple things about your life, this will become overwhelming and you will most likely want to give up. Keep it simple and specific.  For example:

  • What do I want to change: Organize my home, it is too cluttered
  • What will be the result of this change: Items will be easier to find. House will be easier to clean. This will help my overall focus because I won’t be distracted by a cluttered house.
  • How do I get there: Focus on one room at a time. Sort items into “keep”, “store”, “discard”. Set specific times in my calendar to do this; do not leave it up to when I get around to it.
  • Timeline: I will clean the upstairs linen closet on Saturday. I will get up 1 hour earlier to get a good start in case something unexpected happens.

# 4 – Believe

Believe that you can do this. While writing your personal development plan you should make statements that begin with: “I will…” “I am….” “by the end of March I will….” These positive statements will help you to believe in these steps you are taking. Often a personal development plan is thwarted by your own unbelief. Believe that you can make these changes in your life. This belief and positive statements will help you attain your new goals.

Personal development plans are of paramount importance for anyone who feels that life is slipping by and they are not being fulfilled. Beginning and implementing a personal development plan will give you focus and change your life around.

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