My Top 5 Personal Development Strategies
I have been involved in and studying personal development for the past 15 years. During this time I have come across so many wonderful and insightful ideas and strategies. The thing is though that you can't use all of them. You have to pick and choose to see what will work for you and is worth your time and energy.
This past weekend I started thinking of my top 5 and wanted to share them with you. These are the things that I made the biggest impact on my life. They have also been extremely useful to clients and friends that have implemented them.
1. Start a gratitude practice. In either the morning or night, write down 3 things that you are grateful for. Gratitude shifts your mind from taking things for granted to truly appreciating the world around you. It is one of the best ways to shift your thinking to be more positive and optimistic.
2. Reframe your thoughts. Our thoughts truly determine our life. What we are thinking about is what we believe and where our life will go. The good thing is that we are able to work with and change our thinking. The first step to reframing your thoughts is to be aware when you have a negative thought. Notice this thought and take a moment. Then reframe the thought to something that serves you. It may be as simple as flipping it to something positive. Changing a thought such as "I am so stupid" to "I am highly intelligent." You can also change it to a growth statement if that is more believable for you. For example, "I can never learn Spanish" to "I am a competent person and with discipline and patience I can learn Spanish."
3. Develop a meditation practice. I often say that the greatest skill that I have learned is to meditate. It has allowed me to have a deeper understanding of myself. It has made me much calmer and relaxed in social situations. Meditation doesn't need to be complicated. Simply sitting and being is meditating. A simple meditation to start is a single focused meditation on the breath. Allow yourself to breathe naturally in and out of the nose and bring your awareness to watching the breath. Then any time your mind wanders, simply noticing it and in a non-judgmental way bringing it back to the breath. You can also do guided meditations on youtube or apps such as Headspace, Calm, and Insight Timer. I recommend starting small and doing it for around 5 minutes per day.
4. Make scheduling your friend. The biggest change that I made to make me a productive person is utilizing scheduling. I started to plan out my day with different blocks of time. During these blocks, I would focus on one task that I would either complete or work on for a given amount of time. I would make sure that most of these blocks are my needle-moving activities. Some people think that scheduling is too rigid or restrictive. In reality, it gives you the freedom to do more of the things that you love.
5. Get on a good sleep schedule. This is one that is still a challenge for me at times. With this, you want to be getting 7-9 hours of sleep and going to bed, and waking up at the same time. This makes a massive difference for your energy level, cognition, and how you feel throughout the day. Getting on this sleep schedule does require discipline especially at night to get yourself ready for bed at a consistent time each night.
Which one of these 5 do you want to focus on? Choose one of these and start taking immediate action in order to make it a habit!
