Personal Growth

There is much that has been stated about personal development goals and a lot of these wise words have been ignored by thousands upon thousands. However, if you ignore your personal development you are wasting the power within.

Power Of Your Brain

There is one thing for sure and that is the power of your brain. No one is quite sure just how every part of the brain works despite years of medical research. But, one other thing is for certain – you can convince your brain to act and believe in certain things if you condition it properly.

One must also recognize that two components of the brain are the conscious level and the sub-conscious level – both play a vast part in everything we believe.

Define What You Want

We probably have heard a lot about the power and necessity of setting goals if we want to acquire something be that a new career, an educational degree, a new job, a new house, a new persona. But, there is one thing often missed in the goal setting literature that must be talked about much more clearly.

Tell Yourself Where You Want To Go

The one main thing that is missing in goal setting is the power of the phraseology – or how you tell yourself something that you want your brain to believe – that must be considered in order for both parts of the brain to act in unison. The both parts of the brain I am talking about are the conscious and sub-conscious.

Here is an example. If I say (using the visualization technique) that I am a doctor, assuming your goal is to be a doctor, your subconscious mind may say, ‘no way – you haven’t even finished your under graduate education yet’, you have a conflict between what you are saying consciously and what your sub-conscious will accept as being possible.

But, if you change the language to something the subconscious can more readily believe like, ‘I will really enjoy helping people as a doctor’ is much more believable for the sub-conscious mind. The sub-conscious can easily believe that you will enjoy helping people so this becomes a firmer belief. The two must work hand in hand in order to make your goal believable, and doable. Then, you can say over and over again, ‘I love being able to help people as a doctor’ which is very believable to your sub-conscious mind.

How You Benefit

And, before you know it, your brain will be convinced how happy you will be as a doctor and will keep doing everything to move forward. A solid belief has been created because your sub-conscious mind could much more easily accept and believe what your conscious mind was saying.

You can use this same technique over and over again as it pertains to whatever goal it is that you are currently working towards accomplishing. You must understand the importance of actually believing what it is that you have set out to do.

Be Careful What You Say

For example, if you have set a goal to start a business, it would a much clearer statement if you were to say that you would be better able to support your family than to say I have a successful business. It is much easier for the subconscious mind to believe that you would be better able to support your family than to immediately jump to the assumption that you own a successful business.

The belief system is powerful but it cannot handle a thought that it completely out of its current range of experience. In the situation just cited, the brain already knows that you want to better support your family so it is with this thought that is more compatible with your established belief system.

Here, below, are just a few personal development goals that you can claim now and for the future.

1. The Confident Self. Your self-esteem, your self-confidence, your self-worth is basically what you think about yourself. You decide how competent you think you are in handling life’s challenges that arise with each passing day. Self-worth says that you are a worthy person deserving of experiencing happiness and success. To increase one’s confidence or self-worth is to declare that this attribute defines your success in whatever you do.

2. Let your body language show your confidence. This means that you will be better able to communicate your message more effectively; it means to demonstrate confidence rather than being aggresive; it means that you display persistence rather than weakness; it means that your daily performance speaks of success rather than being focused on the problem; and it means that you will lead rather than follow.

3. Develop the mindset of conciliation with others rather than leaning into confrontation. Learn to establish common ground rather than looking for areas of disagreement.

4. Eliminate procrastination and start doing rather than just thinking about action. Procrastination is not a character trait you inherited but rather is a habit that you have developed. Remember that if one can learn a new habit or a new skill so it is that you can unlearn that habit of procrastination.

5. Rise early and engage in a rewarding time spent in appreciation of the blessings you have. You are blessed to be able to go for a relaxing early morning walk free from strife, war or fear. Use your early morning time to engage in devoting some time to that book you always wanted to write but never had the time or listen to an inspirational message or songs. Each new day is an opportunity to start afresh, to see each new day as an opportunity to embrace life’s events not fear what lies ahead. To start out your day on a positive note is to set the welcoming tone for the rest of the day.

6. Br proactive rather than reactive. Envision yourself as a creator not a victim; take control of what you believe and do not allow others to dictate your fate; and, take responsibility for all your attitudes and actions not casting excuses onto others for your behavior and results.

7. Don’t allow the past to rule your future. What is past is past and it does not forebode well to relive past mistakes or transgressions. Move forward rather than being stuck in the past. No one can redo the past but everyone can create a better future.

9. Develop the habit of reading as a method of continuous learning and development rather than relying on past knowledge or experiences to pave the way to future requirements.

10. Become more resilient by learning to focus on solutions rather than problems. A key personal development goal that can serve you well both in your professional life but also in your personal life is the ability to see beyond a difficulty or problem and turn your brain and actions towards working towards initiating solutions. Throughout one’s life, there are always going to be issues to face, problems that arise or challenges unforeseen. So, the question is this: how can you meet each of these arising issues without becoming mired in anguish or despair? The answer lies in identifying the problem clearly so that a solution is the obvious next step.

11. The ability to become resilient is also intertwined with the habit of learning to reduce stress. Stress is caused by mounting anxiety over an issue or issues that remain unresolved. However, learning to seek a resolution does more to reduce stress than exercising or going for a vigorous walk. There is nothing wrong with exercising or going for a walk but do not negate the power of resolution to resolve stressful issues or concerns.

12. Do not allow your comfort zone to prevent you from adapting to change or from trying new ventures. To be trapped in what is comfortable is the same as allowing yourself to believe that you must remain captive to what was once sufficient for survival. Life is an on-going series of progressive change and newness. Move forward with continuous learning and by utilizing those skills that see resolution not remaining stuck in a problem.

Your personal development goals can lead you forward to a more rewarding life despite challenges, pitfalls or trials. You do have a choice and you do have the option. Your path forward is more than a vision or a wish but more of an opportunity that can be embraced right now with each day firmly grasped as a new beginning for a more rewarding life.

Inspirational Quotes for Reflection:

“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.” Helen Keller

“One must also recognize that two components of the brain are the conscious level and the sub-conscious level – both play a vast part in everything we believe.” Byron Pulsifer

“Positive expectation comes from believing that you are worthy of great things, and realistic expectation comes from the belief that if you work hard enough at your goals, you can achieve them.” David A. Hunter