Like most, I entered the world of business giving for granted a few facts. “We live in a world with finite resources”, “competition is tough” but “time makes you wiser”. All are true. We are all heading somewhere. What I’ve learnt, though, is that there is a direct correlation between the effort you put into developing yourself and how close you get to your goals.
This is what personal development is about – that pursuit for self improvement. Below are 3 steps to mastering this art!
What is Personal Development and why do we need it?
Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now.” – Alan Lakein
- Where will I be in 5 years time?
- Who must I be to reach my 5 year goal?
- What must I master to become that person before the 5 years are over?
If you’re left with a blank space in your mind after reading these questions, then you are in the need of a personal plan yourself.
People tend to align themselves across 6 basic but polar human needs: Certainty / Uncertainty, Significance / Contribution and Connection / Growth. Personal development, then, allows us to steer our learning and experiences towards things we value most (i.e. our human needs). This in turn contributes for your success (both in terms of achievement and fulfillment).
3 Steps to creating your own Personal Development plan
In setting up an effective personal growth plan, its key to keep it simple, realistic yet well measured. Here’s a few stages I advise you to go through when your plan:
STEP 1: FIND OUT “WHAT” YOU REALLY WANT (BY OUTLINING “WHY” YOU WANT IT)
Start by breaking down your personal development into segments. Myself, i organize my development into the following brackets:
- Principles’ Assimilation, i.e. the process of discovery, testing and implementation of core principles I find crucial to achieving behaviors and results I seek.
- Physical Balance, i.e. the process of reaching physical well being through working out or achieving certain milestones (e.g. climbing a certain mountain or reaching certain % of body fat).
- Social Connection, i.e. the process of fostering my community of friends and growing closer to loved ones.
- Mental Development, i.e. the journey to building my knowledge on certain areas, acquiring skill set of certain tools or testing my proficiency on a given subject.
- Financial Achievement, i.e. financial security, investment objectives or ownership / divestment targets.
- Personal Branding Growth, i.e. the cycle of creating a legacy after my name, islands of competence or contribution.
Note: the above are exhaustive to me, but you should develop whatever brackets are most relevant to you.
Next, you need to populate each of these groups with objectives. I usually make them yearly objectives. Make sure not to go bonanza on these; general rule of thumb should be 1-3 objectives per bracket max. As a litmus test, if you can’t recall all of them by heart after doing the list, go back and clean up your list.
Finally, the most challenging part of setting objectives (and the hardest): set yourself a strong enough reason “WHY” you want to pursue each of these objectives. E.g. you might have as a target to save $50k this year, BECAUSE that will finance your trip around the world when you turn 30.
STEP 2: PRIORITIZE, SETUP MEASURABLE KPIS AND CREATE A EASY WAY OF TRACKING PROGRESS
Because you might end up with +10 objectives to accomplish, you want to prioritize. Pick a max of 3 to start with (especially if this your first approach to structured personal development).
Next, set KPIs. They’re particularly important when it comes to your development. Why? Because no one is controlling or motivating you. So setting milestones you can work towards and use as a reward are key. Ensure each of your objectives (set above) have a KPI and set a measurement timeline. Book them on your calendar if you must.
Finally, create an easy way of referencing back to your objectives, registering your progress or adding notes / learnings on the same. Personally, I have found that Workflowy works quite well. Easy to bullet point, take notes and mark things off the list. Also, always on your phone or desktop, wherever you need it. A spreadsheet tucked away in a folder on your personal laptop won’t do the trick. Change it today if you want to be successful in your endeavor.
STEP 3: TAKE (MASSIVE) ACTION
Congratulations, you’re 80% done. But a plan will only come true if with execution. If you’ve prioritized correctly, you will be getting started with something that you’re really, truly keen on changing. Use this to drive massive action.
Using the same principles as that of project management, take massive action towards your objective. Create a mental model and fight yourself to suppress habits that might’ve stopped you from reaching your objective before.
Continue pushing your new behaviors for 21 consecutive days and you’ll find that it has ingrained into a routine. If you find yourself having to pivot, this is also easy, at least now you know where you’re going and why you’re changing.
How about you, how are you currently structuring your personal development?
Interested in finding out your own 6 human needs? Test yourself here.