Personal growth tips and programme for a year
What should you start with to succeed in your personal development? What problems are likely to occur during professional and personal growth? What constituents shape a successful personal growth programme? In our article, you will find the answers to these questions, as well as a detailed description of the personal growth instruments that help achieve quick results, and a selection of books on personal growth from experts and practitioners. Personal growth involves a person’s full awareness of the need of personal development, his striving to become better, more intelligent, important, active and to have more perspectives. What is personal growth for? The majority of people have life aspirations and professional ambitions. Not a lot of them realize what it is exactly that stops their dream come true. Only a few of them recognize their mistakes so as to fix them and reach their dream. Personal growth broadens professional perspectives, life opportunities and helps achieve personal success.
What levels of personal development are there
• an ignorant personality – an immature mind, pursuit of material needs necessary for one’s survival;
• an underdeveloped personality – thirsty mind, a basic set of values, accentuation on obtaining material things, involves emotional responses;
• a developing personality – prompting mind, displaying interest through the traditional educational and empirical systems, learning about oneself and the world by means of one’s senses and mind;
• a developed personality – uses the rational thinking as a basis for learning about the world and oneself through experience, sensations, feelings and reactions;
• an all-round developed personality – differentiating mind with a rich spectrum of views, interests, life goals, awakening soul initiation;
• an integrated personality – extraordinary intelligence, impressions directed at integration with the soul. Intuitive differentiation at a level that leads to the realization of life lessons, growing personal awareness;
• an overshadowing personality – an overshadowing mind coordinated by one's soul. Conscious, self-aware personality that can distinguish between myself and not myself;
• a spiritually transformed personality – a person with a harmonious individuality, has either integrated or universal intelligence. A well-rounded personality that effectively interacts with the physical level and is transformed by the soul.
Personal growth problems one may stumble on
In reality, the number of problems interfering with personal growth is endless. They are individual for every person. We can highlight just the general features of personal growth problems and their most characteristic forms:
1. Age problems. These include the problems of elderly people who retire and stop their professional activities altogether.
2. Existential problems – awareness of the essence of human existence, including the need to face certain facts of life, such as freedom, death, loneliness, love, responsibility, etc.
3. Self-understanding problems – personal attempts to discover and recognize own purpose.
4. Worries about how we are precepted and whether we are understood by others.
About personal growth theories
A multitude of theories about personal growth have been shaped. The majority of them are too complicated and sophisticated for an unprepared mind. Nevertheless, there are certain ideas that are clear enough and do not need to be simplified to make them comprehensible.
1. Behaviourism – a very simple theory, quite widespread. According to this theory, initially, a person has no special potential that might otherwise distinguish him from other persons. We all are fully equal. Yet this is true only at the beginning of our life path. Personal growth depends only on life factors and on the circumstances, under which a personality will evolve.
2. Existential approach – is similar to the above-mentioned approach in certain respects. Early in his life, a person has nothing special about him. He acquires all his qualities and traits in the process of his search for harmony, self-study, and by forming a new perception of everything that surrounds him.
3. «Inevitably positive» theory. Every person has a huge potential and there is no stopping to its being realising. Yet it can be realised under certain conditions, not all of which are positive.
Delusions about personal growth
These days, in an attempt to make money many authors have created a whole webinars market in the online space. Indeed, one can come across very decent webinars from time to time. Nonetheless, they won’t work when used alone. A person must make real efforts and take certain actions in his life. Online information is oversimplified and webinars frequently lack recommendations about how to apply the knowledge they transmit in real life.
Nowadays, the situation with false personal growth is extremely questionable if not absurd. For example, «if you have no money and keep suffering failures at work – never mind, for you aim for personal growth». «Are you unlucky in your personal life? Never mind – you are in the process of nurturing your personality».
The online space is crammed with such statements. Even though there are sensible discussions there, too, finding them in such a mass of absurd is not an easy task.
Personal growth programme. What to start with?
For fast and successful personal evolution, first decide on where you want to channel your efforts. What narrow area are you planning to focus on and put all your energy in? You need to identify the results of your work with yourself – by working intensely both on them and on yourself.
For example, a head of department must be highly qualified in his area: he must work on improving the methods of activity, technology, production, and thus gain recognition in his area of specialization.
1. Do strive for personal growth.
If you work on your personal development, you will become happier and healthier. As a result, you will acquire extra energy for your goals achievement, will become more active and determined and will make more balanced, quality decisions.
2. Hammer away at one aim.
Concentrate on perfecting the results of your activity – and keep on with your activities. You will see the result only in case you don’t give up your attempts.
3. Strengthen your individuality.
Even if your work has a defined style, you must be braver and more determined, demonstrate more individuality, not fear experiments and the fact that it can be treated with skepticism by the society. It is individuality and bravery that have always become the basis for creation of whole trends and activity spheres.
4. Work on your personal attractiveness.
Other things being equal, people tend to prefer a business partner who they find more attractive.
A personal growth programme for one year
Month 1. Increase self-awareness.
Take an objective look at your life. You need to analyze in which spheres of life you are quite successful and where improvements must be made. You need to find an aim in your life and make it quite clear for yourself. For everyone has an aim. Concentrate on your obsessions and your advantages. What hobbies do you enjoy the most and are easier for you to follow, simple and bring excellent results?
Compile the following list «My strengths and obsessions». Getting up earlier and doing morning exercises will be a great idea. You will be surprised by how much energy you can draw from half an hour’s exercise – you will be charged with it for the rest of the day.
Month 2. Leave the comfort zone and work on your convictions.
To move on to the next life stage, you need to review you past and current life. Face your fears, overcome limitations. You will manage to achieve personal growth only by leaving the old framework. Therefore, all you need to do is admit having the fears that limit your development and be strong about your decision while moving steadily forward. Include working with affirmations and visualizations into your daily routine.
Concentrate on central values. Determine your beliefs and send them to your subconscious by speaking them out, starting with the words: «I believe that…». Next, repeat them again, but start with this sentence: «These are my central values». Read books on personal development and self-perfection. About success and money, about the people who reached success in certain matters. Save aphorisms and wise people’s words. Choose a saying you like and make it your motto for one day. Yet it is vital that you not only reflect on these ideas, but also take actions, make steps towards the fulfilment of your idea.
Month 3. Establish clear goals for yourself.
To actualise your purpose, you need to draw true goals out of it first. They are similar to the Pole Star which always shows where the north lies. To do this, you need to make a list of objectives. Contemplate the following factors:
1. Clear desirable outcome.
2. Positive statement. Frequently people clearly realise what they don’t want, what they want avoid. That said, they do not understand what they are planning to attain – although it is extremely important to have a good grasp of the matter.
3. Personal responsibility. You need to find out if it depends on you whether you can achieve the goal. It is vital that you initiate and promote the progress. Make it your responsibility, for example, «I want to stay calm in an unsettling situation».
4. Present time. The goal must refer not to the future or past, but to the present. The goal must be complete. For example, it will be a mistake to make an aim like this «I want to finish my work as soon as possible». It will be a lot more effective if you say «I will have finished this work by 22.00».
5. Not your own goals. You must have a clear idea about whether this is your own aim or whether it has been dictated by the society or glossy magazines. Do you feel comfortable about these aims and will they really help you in your life?
6. Context. A goal without a time frame whatsoever is simply an illusion or a dream. You need to decide when, where and with whom you are planning to achieve your goal. You also need to establish a starting point – a reference point against which the progress will be measured.
7. Visualisation. You have to imagine that you have already reached your goal and achieved life victories. What will you see, hear and how will you feel in your dreams? If your sensations are not that pleasant - modify your goal.
8. First step. What are you going to start with? How must progress programme be launched? What is the first action? You must consider all the conditions of a well-formulated result. After that, make the first step.
9. Eco safety check:
• Your close ones. Think what kind of attitude your dear ones will have towards your goal. Won’t your striving for it harm them in any way?
• People around you. Will it result in helping other people?
• Resources. How much energy, money, time and how many thoughts and emotions will it take to reach the goals? Will such investments justify themselves?
• Responsibility. Are you ready to take on the responsibility for achieving the aim?
Month 4. Learn to manage your time.
To achieve the objectives, you have set for yourself, it is vital that you possess the skills of time management and self-organization – try to find the information on the respective subjects. For a start, keep a diary in which you will write down your plans and the time spent on tasks and aims for a day, a month and a year.
Month 5. Create the right self-image.
Start every coming month with working on your personal space, so as to make your life conditions more comfortable and pleasant. Tidy up your house – both energetically and physically. By this time, you will most likely have accumulated a load of knowledge. In the process of studying the theory of personal image, work on establishing a connection between your internal and external state.
Month 6. Learn to be grateful and optimistic.
Singlemindedness, bright and positive mood form the basis of personal growth. You need to weigh your attitude towards troubles, failures, mistakes in your life. During this month, concentrate on positive things, avoid humiliating teasing, gossip, negative talking and moaning. You just need to admit that these negative phenomena do exist and learn how to deal with them. Try to change the way you view the world – pay attention to small details. It is attention to detail that guides us to ingenious ideas for business and life. Learn to be grateful for all the good things you’ve got in your life.
Month 7. Relax and enjoy the moment.
In the last half a year, you have done a great job – now, leave yourself some time for rest. Go for a long-awaited trip – visit the places you have been dreaming to see. You may think of some hobby or starting to collect something, etc. Learn to live right now, do not put the enjoyment off till faraway future. It is preferable to think about yourself by remembering about routine care about your physical and psychological health.
Month 8. Revise your personal life.
Time has arrived to reconsider family and personal relationships. Still, you must not forget about previous months’ objectives, either. Perfect the achieved results, contemplate the strong and weak points of your relationships. Establish personal boundaries and learn to guard them.
Month 9. Learn to be generous and forgiving.
Throughout this month, practice generosity, share with those around you – this is an effective way of getting happier. Listen attentively to other people in order to understand their emotions and aims. Now is high time to apologize to your acquaintances for rude behaviour in the past. Learn to forgive yourself and others.
Month 10. Sign up for a course and take a meditation class.
Now is time to enrol on a good personal growth course. You might want to think of meditation. Study its methods – read a book, take a class or browse for them online. After you have received all the required knowledge in the area, move on to meditation itself, try to achieve relaxation and internal harmony.
Month 11. Get the basic knowledge on finance.
We live in a material world. Therefore, money is its essential element. The financial wellbeing will have a beneficial influence on personal evolution. Therefore, efficient budget handling is an essential condition. You must plan your budget and avoid wasting money. Attaining more financial means greatly encourages personal development. So, you need to work on this matter.
Month 12. Make a recap and a plan for the year to come.
The last month of our plan has approached – time to analyse the calendar of the year that has been left behind. What have you succeeded at? What could have been done better? Assess your achievements and plan for the next year.
7 personal growth rules
Rule 1. Be consistent about your goals. They must be ambitious and consistent. You should not close your eyes on problems, but start with pinpointing the main problem and solving it. After you have been through with one problem, go on to the next one. We strongly recommend that you let others know about your intentions. If you have started solving one problem, do not spread yourself too thin by trying to solve less important issues all at the same time – you will still need your energy later.
Rule 2. There are no secret methods – only a systematic approach will help you succeed. Do not entertain illusions – there is no magic solution that will immediately solve all your problems and make a leader out of you. You need to make efforts and improve yourself. The only thinkable approach is the systematic one – this is when you put an effort in every day, which gradually makes you stronger and better.
Rule 3. Strategy and tactics outweigh stamina. Strategy is the main condition in any sport – it helps one preserve one’s energy and gain victory. The correct tactic helps achieve better results at less energy input. There is an analogy in the world of business – at times, strategy and tactics are far more important than the size of the budget.
Rule 4. Do a regular check-up. In the world of business, a person frequently gets fully absorbed by his work and completely forgets about the need to have rest. Therefore, you must consider active recreation to make sure you restore your energy in the right time and remember about regular health check-ups.
Rule 5. Find a coach
You can ask one of your friends or acquaintances to be your coach. You will put objectives for yourself and you will move towards achieving them, but you may well need someone who can assess you.
Rule 6. Maintain self-discipline. You need to think of a plan and stick with it. Planning and following a strict routine are the essential conditions for systematic success in any sphere.
Rule 7. Train as part of a team. The leader’s role is the toughest one, it is a lot easier to follow him – as a result, you save enough energy and leap forward at the finish line. Training as part of a team is actually more effective, too – you will work not only on durability and power, you will also give a test run to the scenarios of future victories.
