Personal growth 101
Everyone is talking about personal development and so many programmes promise to become “the best version of yourself”, but what is it actually and where to start?
Maybe you have read a book from the “psychology” or “self-help” section already. And I am certain that you have googled a question related to personal growth several times. In a way, personal growth is like a very big colorful mosaic and you can pick whatever suits your current situation.
In case you are at the beginning of your self-discovery journey, but unsure where to start, I put together some steps that you can follow to get to know yourself better and get inspired to create a personal growth habit (how cool would that be?!).
I would be very curious to hear from you and see what you picked and how it evolves our time. As we constantly evolve, either because we want to or because we are faced with a big change or challenge, it is a good idea to have a toolbox of exercises for you. These exercises can help you to connect with yourself and understand your thoughts, behavior and feelings better.
Let’s dive right in!
Life inventory
It is always a good way to start with an overall assessment of your different areas of your life. You can use the “Wheel of life” (you draw a circle and divide it in 8 parts) and pick 8 areas of your life you wish to have a closer look at. Some examples: Work, physical environment, spirituality, relationships, significant other, personal growth, finances, health.
In the next step you ask yourself the question
How satisfied am I with x on a scale of 0-10?
Once you have assessed all the different areas, think of one that you would like to work on and what you could do tomorrow to fill this category up.
2. Values & Identity
Values are like your north star. They help you to put words on what truly matters to you and will most likely also be a good indicator for when things go wrong. For example, if you have an argument with someone or difficulties with the behavior of certain people, it will help you to understand why this bothers you so much when you know what your core values are.
Some questions that will help you to define your values are the following ones:
What truly matters to me?
What topics can I not stop talking about?
What do I stand for?
3. Reflections
My newsletter readers (sign up here) know that I’m a big fan of reflections. And I have been also organizing a yearly reflections workshop for several years now. So, yes, reflections are pretty cool. 🙂 You might ask why. Well, the moment you pause and reflect on your day, week, month or year (or a specific event), you will be surprised how many things you learn about yourself and others.
I also very much recommend writing your reflections down and review them if you like. It is a bit like a guided journaling and here are a few questions for you to start off:
Summary: What 3 words summarize this week?
Highlights: What brought me joy this week?
Lowlights: What did I struggle with this week?
Learning: What did I learn this week?
These three tools will help you to kick off your personal development journey and I’m sure you will have fun doing them!
Enjoy the ride!