I want to live my best life! I want to be in full control of my career, my schedule every day, when I workout, how much money I make, I want to be able to buy anything I want when I want to, I want to choose our dream house and not have reasons why.
I saw this quote where it said something like, “Don’t live your second best life” or “Don’t live your life like you get 2” something like that. They are both pretty good quotes though either way.
If you are reading this, you might feel the same. There are so many resources when it comes to personal development and it can be overwhelming when you are just starting. I am not a personal development expert but I have found some helpful resources that have gotten me excited to better myself and my life that I think might help you too.
I’m just going to jump into how to start and where to start when it comes to personal development and what I have done. I’m not here to convince you why or go into the psychology behind it because you can Google that.
Let’s first start with what I felt and what I didn’t do when I first started.
- I was hesitant to do it
- I made excuses
- I didn’t reflect about what I just read or heard
- I didn’t take action on what I learned
Some people that I follow on Instagram and podcasts that I have been listening to made me realize that when you are changing something, you are going to have resistance to do it. The body isn’t used to it. BUT you want to change! That is why you are doing personal development in the first place!
You need commitment to produce the focus and consistency you need to keep your eye on the target and perseverance to make it through the rough spots and setbacks you will get along the way. (Born to Win)
Set Goals && Your Why
Figure out your goals and have a deadline so you can set “checkpoints” along the way to see your progress.
You also need to know your why for EACH goal. If you don’t have a strong why you aren’t going to stick to them. Sorry but it’s true. You also need to have an action plan for each goal. A goal without a plan is just a dream. So work backwards.
EX: I want to get 1,000 daily views on my blog by Dec of 2020. WHY- Because I want to be a resource for people and for them to know I know that they can come to me to give them the real and raw information. I want to make this a full time thing. I want to be a full-time blogger.
I look at my goals a minimum of 3 times a day. I remind myself of them to keep myself going and why I’m doing what I’m doing.
I have my goals on my lock screen on my phone and on my computer background so I am always reminded of them. I wake up thinking about my goals and going to bed dreaming about my goals.
Okay enough about goals, let’s get into it.
Mindset of Personal Development
I would say the first part of personal development is to work on your mindset. You want to learn, think differently, and feel different emotions.
If you are in a state of fear and anxiety, you are in survival mode and focusing on running away from the unknown. There is no room in your heart to grow. All your energy is taken on what has happened in the past and thinking of the worst case scenario. You can’t think about possibilities.
Anxiety is hard, I get it, I have it pretty bad, but changing your mindset is going to help. Of course see a professional because it works!
Where you place your attention is where you place your energy and that is where you place your mind.
If you have a crappy attitude towards personal development, you aren’t going to go anywhere. You have to try things that are different even if you have to trick your mind. Eventually you will change, but you have to keep trying and keep it up.
Practice Gratitude In The Morning
Try feeling gratitude in the morning. Showing gratitude is positive energy.
I used to hate when people would say “Show Gratitude” and “What are you thankful for?”, but it WORKS! I feel like this one won’t affect you until you suck it up and try it.
Replace frustration and hatred with appreciation and thankfulness. But the trick is you have to stay there for the rest of the day. Don’t let the outside world (traffic, a bad email) affect your mind and dictate your life.
When you are receiving something, the thing to do is say thank you. And when you are saying thank you, the event or thing has happened, you have received it. The mind is telling the body that it already happened aka manifesting. So be grateful for the things that you have and for the things you want to receive!
Now, how do we start this change???
Action Step – Daily Deposit & Affirmations
I learned this from The Guide Culture, a sales program/course I am a part of. I can’t take credit for this but I have created my own version that you can download if you want or write it in a notebook everyday.
This gets you in the habit of basically journaling and manifesting in a way. I challenge you to do this for 30 days! You are going to find excuses not to do it, but just push through it and just DO IT!
Gratitude – Write 3 things you are grateful for (obvi)
Personal Development – What are you currently working on, whether it’s that day, the week, or that month, and maybe if you learned something else or your progress on it
Game Day List – Your top 5 things to get done that day. If you list is too long, sometimes you don’t get everything done and don’t feel accomplished
Affirmations – The body moves towards what the mind thinks about. If you state things in your mind, you also start to believe it. Your subconscious mind believes what we tell it. They can seem weird and WOOWOO but I’ve been doing this for a week and I’ve started to notice a difference in my confidence. Say them 10x! All at once or better throughout the day (if you remember)
Resources I can vouch for:
Podcasts:
The Ed Mylett Show – Great for mindset and to get you thinking differently. Has guests with different walks of life and experiences
GUIDE Culture Podcast – If you are in a sales role, corporate or direct sales, this helps with your mindset and tips
The Goal Digger Podcast – Business building tips and action plans
Books:
Adventures for your soul – if you feel lost and need words of encouragement and no BS with real struggles. I’ve read this 3 times and the first time was ehh ok, but I got a lot out of it the second time I actually took it seriously and did the action items she suggested.
Born to Win – Just started but loving it so far
You are a badass at making money – If you have a negative thought/feeling towards money (kinda woowoo if you aren’t used to affirmations or think affirmations are ‘stupid’)
I’ve only just begun my journey but these are my tips and tricks to start personal development. Really, just start!
xo, Annie