Building You Own Personal Development Plan

As we move onto number 7 our 12 daily intentions, we will focus on one of the most powerful ones of the 12, Personal Development and Enrichment. We will look at this one from a wide lens since it is a very broad topic and has various meanings attached to it.

As all of our intentions come with some investment, personal development also requires a commitment of time and energy. The good news is that almost anything that you invest in pertaining to personal development can be life-changing for the better. By committing to any number of areas of personal development, you can create dynamic life transformations. Though some of our intentions require a degree of physical energy, personal development generally often requires only a mindset shift or mental adjustment.

There are a few pieces of advice that I would offer when it comes to creating a daily routine of personal development. The first step is to carve out a time each day that will allow 10 to 20 minutes for your new routine. Preferably this is sometime in the morning before your day begins to take you by storm and your new routine of personal development gets pushed aside. Making sure that you are adding something you enjoy is also important. If the routine is a struggle to do on a daily basis or it is a topic that you are truly not interested in, you will find it difficult to maintain consistency in growing in this particular area of personal development/enhancement.

I would also suggest that the real joy of adding even a few minutes of personal development each day is that your growth will likely take you in many different directions. Your journey will likely lean into many areas that you may not even be aware exist today.

So, what does this personal development/enrichment look like? As I mentioned earlier, this topic includes so many possibilities, I can only share with you a few that I have explored and/or suggested to others. Rather than deciding on a topic first, you may want to explore the following mediums before deciding exactly what area of personal development/enrichment you want to research. Just the exploration itself may help you decide on topics you want to learn more about.

• YouTube, even if you're accessing the free version, you can explore almost any topic of your choice. There is a broad range of videos including exercise, nutrition, developing healthy habits, mindfulness, meditation, overcoming personal fear, spiritual growth, you name it. Skies the limit with YouTube.

• If you prefer using audio, Audible, and other apps may allow you to work or even work out and still enjoy a topic of your choice. I have a complete book list of personal development areas in my Audible library. I am more of an audio person so I have a number of other apps that I utilize to access the content.

• Don’t overlook reading personal development books! Just a few pages or a chapter a day can be life-changing, There are literally thousands of books that are incredibly powerful and provide valuable information on any personal development topic. By simply running a Google search, you can explore the areas you are most interested in.

• Attending seminars or clinics is another way to learn new and challenging information on almost any personal growth topic. You can often find these by looking at social media calendars or contacting community calendars in your area. Also, don’t overlook utilizing the services of a “personal life coach” for additional insights. These are often great ways to kickstart your intention. Often times presenters will provide additional information including books or podcasts that could add depth to your this particular intention.

• There are a number of personal development apps that are powerful additions to your personal growth toolbox. Here are just a few apps that I would recommend which provide amazing personal growth assistance.

  • Blinklist especially the paid version of this app has a large number of books that can either be read or played through audio. Like HabitCoach, these are summaries of books that are generally broken down into “blinks” or bullets of the most important parts of the book.

  • Brain.fm is a fantastic app if you are looking to add meditation or enhance other daily activities during your daily routine. There is a ton of research built into this app that pulls together sound and brain frequencies. According to their website, “Brain.fm holds patents on key processes for creating functional music, including technology to elicit strong neural phase locking — allowing populations of neurons to engage in various kinds of coordinated activity.”

  • Mindvalley has an app that has a tremendous amount of information and even classes on all types of personal growth topics. This application can get expensive depending on if you chose the paid-for version.

In summary, when it comes to personal development/growth, the outcome is not nearly as important as the process. Having a growth mindset is extremely important as well. If you enter into the process with the idea that “you can’t teach old dogs new tricks,” your personal evolution will be limited. Just believing that change is possible and there are new opportunities awaiting is incredibly motivating.

Sculpting a small amount of time to commit to personal development each day is the first step in implementing your own personal development plan. No one else has to approve “your plan.” Choosing an area that you would like to experience and find growth in is all your choice. Generally, putting this as a morning priority sets you up for consistency and adds additional value to the rest of your day.

Lastly, the use of technology can be a huge advantage in today’s world. The ability to access information is truly at your fingertips for little or even no cost.