Personal development plan -
plan your future the way you want it

You may find it empowering to have a personal development plan if you have come to a decision to improve some aspect of your life.

It might be that you want to make a vision or dream become your reality. You may want to learn a new skill. Perhaps you have seen a personality trait in someone else and would like to develop it yourself.

Whatever your plan, stick with it until you see results. Take a look at this short video from Zig Ziglar (duration: 4:46) and be determined to keep on "pumping" until you achieve all that you want.

One of the main reasons people use plans is to keep track of time - a very precious resource. Plans also help you stay on track and stay focused on reaching your inspirational goal.

Plans can be boring and boring is not good for self development. The ideas presented here will give you the opportunity to discover and explore, to question and experiment. You might even find yourself disagreeing with me on some issues. I do hope that you find something that meets your needs. In any case, please try things out and have fun along the way.

Self development is not about "getting it right" but getting what you need.

When you have found some tips or suggestions on this site that meet your needs, I encourage you to set up your own plan. Use the personal development plan template provided here. You might even use one you found elsewhere. That is not important.

What is important is that you get what you need and that it works for you.

The ideal plan will be simple yet powerful. It will enable you to successfully achieve whatever inspirational goal you have set for yourself. Whether you aim to improve how you think, behave or feel, or you want to add a new skill to your life, planning how to get there is the first and most important step to success.

Personal development plans are best kept simple.

When you are ready to make changes in your life, a plan may assist you to achieve those changes in less time and using less energy.

It is helpful to know that a plan is only as good as the information upon which it is based.

So ask family and trusted friends for their advice, opinions and help. If anyone responds in a negative way do not be concerned about their opinion, but do consider what they have to say. Feedback, even negative feedback, can help to clarify and improve your plan. Continue to seek out people with a positive and helpful attitude.

Make a point of reading some good self-help books. That link will take you to the resources page. On it you will find books, videos, CDs and other material that others have found very helpful. You may see some items in more than one category. That is because some resources cover a range of topics and others are very specific.

10 Steps to Making a Personal Development Plan

1. Do something about it right now
The first and most important step is to decide that you will make a plan AND do something about it right now. You may not complete your planning today, but you can make a start. It may take some time to get it just the way you want, but the time you spend right now will be some of the most valuable time you ever spend. Stop for a moment now and download the planning template.

2. Seek advice
When you decide on your inspirational goal seek the advice of family and trusted friends. They can be a great source of wisdom but be careful as some can also be a distraction. If you believe in God, ask Him for advice. You can try to go it alone but you may end up finding out the hard way that the old saying really is true: "The advice of many secures victory.".

3. Prepare for change
There is a great video on YouTube called "Shift Happens". It is a clever story about how certain things in the world are changing. Just like the world around us, we too need to change but not just for the sake of it. There is good change and there is bad change. Good change comes from careful planning, bad change is often linked to lack of planning - when we just let our daily lives drift on. By creating a personal development plan you can have more influence over the change that influences your life.

4. Own the plan
Make the plan yours. Decide today to take charge of the rest of your life. What you plan now will affect the rest of your life. Choose to make that time the best years of your life. What you plan and do today influences who you can be tomorrow.

Be sure to use "me" statements in your personal development plan. Make it personal!

• I will be ...
• I plan to achieve ...
• At the end of June I will have ...

5. Set the bar just a little higher
Not too high or you may become discouraged when it all seems too hard. Not too low either as without some challenge there is often not much change. Set the bar at a challenging height.

You might want to reduce your golf handicap. There is not point in aiming for a Tiger Woods score when you are playing off a handicap of 19. Aim to reduce your handicap by 1 or 2 over the next few weekends. Then really think about what it feels like to be playing off 13. Set the bar again and reduce it by just 1 this time. Consolidate, then repeat.

Whatever your inspirational goal, set yourself up for success along the way as well as long term success by keeping the bar at a challenging height.

6. Enjoy the journey
There are many paths that make up a journey and when you have a choice, choose the paths you like the most. Do those things that appeal to you and the change you are seeking becomes so much more enjoyable.

Choose people you like to work with and who can help you along the way. Build friendships with those you do not know well and deepen the friendships with those you already know.

7. Keep on moving
On many journeys there can be one or more rough patches along the way. You will need to push through when you get to these less desirable parts of your journey. Keep the goal in mind, focus on completing this step, maintain your momentum and you will be through it sooner than you think.

Self improvement really is a life-long journey. There are many places along the way where you can spend some time and enjoy all that life has to offer. It is not a journey to be taken at high speed, rather a journey of many steps, each of which provides an opportunity for growth, happiness and a better life.

8. What is your intention?
Your thoughts form a powerful image of who you are and who you can become. Be sure to keep your thoughts lined up with your goal. Do you really want what it is your are saying? If you say that you want to complete a marathon yet you secretly hate running, then your thoughts will be undermining your plan. Work out what you are thinking, toss out what is working against you and keep the rest. When you and your thoughts are on the same page you will make progress.

9. Pay it forward
As you achieve success each step along the way to your inspirational goal, help and encourage others in their own personal development plans. If they do not have a plan, suggest to them that it might be something worth doing. By building up the lives of others you will begin to grow and develop faster.

10. One step at a time

That one giant leap for mankind (making it to the moon) started out as many smaller steps by thousands of men and women - smaller and achievable steps along the way to an otherwise impossible leap.

If it all seems too much right now just remember that man stepped onto the moon after many thousands of smaller steps were taken on the journey towards successful space travel.

Break your personal development plan into smaller steps that can be written into a diary or worked into your daily routine. For example, there is little use in having a one step plan for "losing weight". You may start out with that as an inspirational goal, but smaller steps are needed to make progress.

Sample self development plan:

• decide on your goal weight
• make two charts - foods I want to consume more of and foods to be consumed less often
• find recipes that mostly use the foods on the "more" chart
• sort through the pantry and make a shopping list based on this information
• practice staying on track when shopping - if it is not on the list then it doesn't go in the shopping basket
• invite friends around to try out your new recipes and to encourage you
• find a new recipe every week or so to keep meals interesting
• read about healthy eating and living
• walk short distances instead of taking the car
• drink sufficient water
• and so on...

Use this example for ideas on how to convert your inspirational goal into a series of small steps. Initially "lose weight" seems like one giant leap. This example shows how it can be transformed into small steps that can be scheduled into your diary and built into your daily routine.

Your personal development plan is nothing more than a series of small steps which, when taken in order, will move you towards your inspirational goal.

Make your steps small and achievable and you can experience success every step of the way.

Your next move...

Your next move is to create your personal development plan. If you haven't already, read through the ten steps above, download a copy of the Personal Development Plan template, and begin the journey of the rest of your life.

Additional resources

If you are still deciding whether or not there is any benefit in creating a personal development plan, you may find some value in browsing through the self development resources.