I first came across the idea of a personal growth plan in John Maxwell’s book “The Success Journey: The Process of Living Your Dreams“. A personal growth plan is built upon the belief that personal development is our responsibility and as such we need to intentionally plan our growth. The idea is to have a plan that outlines the areas in our lives that require personal development. I have used a personal growth plan for a while and found it a useful tool that keeps me focused. If I’m not careful, distractions from media, e-mail, blogs and work pressures keep me from using my time wisely. In all the noise, I forget the personal development goals I set myself. Here are the five steps we need to take to develop a personal growth plan:
- Identify the few key areas in your life that you would like to develop. Looking at your dreams, goals and personal aspirations, what are the five (plus or minus two) key areas in your life that you need to develop? What are those few key competencies that will have the greatest impact on your life, career or goals?
- Look for resources in these areas. List the resources that you may need to assist you in developing in each of the areas you’ve identified. This may include books, blogs, tapes, seminars or training to attend. Also include a list of resources that you are going to investigate to help you in your personal growth.
- Set aside an hour a day dedicated to your personal development. You will need to create an hour each day to implement your growth plan. This is a regular time set aside to focus on developing the areas identified, used for reading, writing and reflecting.
- Find mentors and build relationships with other growing people. This is one of the most under-valued areas of personal development. Relationships with growing people, will help you to grow more quickly than any other resource I know. Look for mentors to support and guide you in each of the key areas identified, multiple mentors are usually better than one, as it’s unlikely you’ll be able to find a one person able to assist you in all your key areas.
- As you develop the areas you identified find a way to apply what you learn. Learning is only retained and made meaningful through application. New behaviours create new results, whereas new knowledge only increases your pride. Your life needs to change as a result of what you’ve learnt and this requires action and learning.
John Maxwell suggests that when you learn something new that you ask yourself the following three questions:
- Where can I use it?
- When can I use it?
- Who else needs to know it?
Develop your personal growth plan, make it a visual poster and hang it up where you can see it daily. Then create a daily habit of spending an hour dedicated to your reaching personal development goals.
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It’s our only responsibility to become conscious about the direction our life has taken.. we are the only one who care the most about us, that’s why knowing where we are going is essential for success, happiness and freedom!
It becomes easy when you find people who know what it take to improve our own life… and I’m so grateful to have discovered a community of like-minded people inspiring me to personally grow as a leader in every area of life!
Forget about this at school.. personal development is mandatory… don’t miss it!!
Angelo C.
Home Entrepreneur & Personal Development student
Thanks for the post, just what I was looking for to motivate me to take action today.
I know that success does not just happen to fall in your lap, you have to seek it and you will find it.
“Find mentors and build relationships with other growing people. ”
I take this one because based on my experience, mentors and inspiring people helped me to develop personal growth. We can’t really do this by ourselves that’s why seeking the help of postive people is very important. Thanks for sharing this. More Power!
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