How to start self-development of personality: one small step towards success
We are accustomed to blaming the people around us for our own failures, we see only the injustice of fate and do not pay attention to our own shortcomings. But to change the world, you need to start with yourself, to make society more perfect, you need to improve yourself.
Sooner or later everyone comes to a similar thought, and here a fair question arises - and actually where to start self-improvement? What should be the first step in order not to leave everything halfway in order to complete the work begun? Let me introduce a quick guide to action, or 4 steps to change yourself and your lifestyle.
Where to start self-development: step number 1. Revision in the pantry.
To know which way to go, you need to find out where you are. The so-called "Wheel of life" will help determine the level of its development at the moment. Draw a circle and divide it into sectors, and each sector into 10 levels. Sectors will meet your life values, what you think is necessary to feel happy.
Wheel of life. For example, taken a picture from the book Extreme Time Management
Among life priorities can be:
- family, personal life;
- career, income level;
- level of physical activity, sports;
- health and psychological comfort;
Do not forget to mention the environment that surrounds you, that is, what you have a direct influence on - whether your living space has been removed, things in your office are in their places, etc. The order in the head begins with the order on the table. It also concerns your inner circle - boldly exclude people who waste your time from your life.
Step number 2. Honest recognition.
After the compilation of the “Wheel of life”, it’s time to admit to yourself where you are obviously not working enough, and what is in your order. Remember that you are not looking for excuses, you are trying to objectively assess the status quo.
For example, you have a great family, and the income level is higher than average and higher than that of a neighbor. But at the same time you have obviously sagging tummy, and because of the constant smoking, the “breathing” is at zero. You do not need to persuade yourself that you do not have time for a gym, but you smoke because you have a nervous job. Just state the fact: everything is bad with your health and fitness.
Step number 3. Goals book.
The objective assessment is completed, and here you have a plan of work. The “failures” in the diagram are your priorities in self-development, and it’s up to you to decide where to start.
Each "failure" should correspond to a global goal, and each global goal should be divided into small stages. All this hierarchy of goals must be recorded - it is better to start a separate diary. There are several rules for setting goals:
- the goal should be real (not to become, like Angelina Jolie, but to lose 10 kg by the end of the year);
- the goal must be measurable;
- The goal must have a deadline.
Example: we have a "failure" in physical form. We set a global goal: by the end of the year to lose weight by 5 kg, to reduce the percentage of body fat to 15-17%. Sub-goals: get up in the morning for 10 minutes earlier and do exercises, 2 times a week, go to the gym and pool, eliminate fast food from the diet, increase the consumption of fresh vegetables.
As can be seen from the example, the global goal, which was considered unattainable, turned into a set of real steps that are easy to implement. Breaking each "failure" into such small steps, you will see that success is near, and your motivation to achieve the goal will increase.
How to start self-improvement: step number 4. Diary of success.
Man needs goals to achieve them. Each achievement inspires, so you need to keep a kind of success diary, where you could record all your small victories. Firstly, it shows your progress, and secondly, it is able to support when the losing streak begins.
All your achievements should be recorded in a diary. In our particular example, these could be:
- Refused the proposed hot dog colleague. I am proud of myself!
- Swam in the pool continuously 200 m crawl. Muscles of shoulders ache.
- He came up with a new salad, in which the salad does not taste so bad!
Rules of self-improvement
Self-development is work, and therefore you may want to give up everything. It is common for a person to be a conservative, everything new frightens us and in every possible way destroys our comfort zone. We are ready to perform only constant habits and daily actions without an internal struggle with laziness.
That is why the process of self-improvement must be turned into a habit. To make it work, you need to follow a few simple rules:
Break your day into periods - morning, afternoon, evening, night - and plan things so that in each period you perform the same type of actions.
The smaller your steps towards achieving the goal, the easier it is for you to carry them out. And as soon as a separate small step will become a habit, add one more, and behind it another and another ...
Every night before bed, analyze the past day. If in some situation you did wrong, think about what would happen if you did everything differently. Be sure to record the results of your analysis in the diary of success.
The last rule that should always be observed is to treat your life not as something that you cannot change, but as something that directly depends on your actions and desires. Do not tell yourself "Impossible!", Ask "What do I need to do to make this possible?" Only a positive attitude will help move the mountains.
