The first phase of writing a personal growth plan: Choosing your goal.
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Step-By-Step planning is much more powerful than simply a few personal growth tips. The magic of step-by-step takes what could be a frightening project and reduces it to friendly little steps. The amazing way to get the best plan is to challenge yourself with questions. Questions are the toll used since ancient times to reach the most brilliant ideas. Question each step of the way, and get better and better answers.
Each action is followed by a few questions. Answering the questions will help you plan powerful, clear, exciting steps that will get you started on your way to achieving your goal quickly and with great momentum.
1. Action: Define your goal.
Questions:
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What, briefly, is your goal?
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What details are you already aware of?
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What specific image can you keep before you to focus you on your goal?
Background:
The more specific and clear your objective is, the easier it will be to plan and the easier it will be to accomplish. Let's say, for example, you wish to create a Lose Weight Diet Plan. By defining how much weight you wish to lose, in what realistic time frame and through what methods, you will already see clearly what you need to do.
In order to write a Lose Weight Diet Plan, you have to understand how that works biologically. What causes people to gain or lose weight? This first step is simply creating the vision, and understanding where you are now in your knowledge. This applies to all personal action plans. Clearly and specifically defining it makes it doable.
2. Action: Fire up your motivation.
Questions:
- Why do you wish to achieve this personal growth goal?
- Is this goal good for you?
- What will achieving this goal do for you?
- Are you able, motivated, and committed to achieving this goal?
- How will you be even more motivated to achieve this goal?
Background:
- I just found an entire collection of motivational e-books being given away for free by White Dove Publications. Click here for these free e-books!. Titles include "The Law of Attraction," "7 Keys to Success," "Pushing Your Limits," and another 13 downloads.
Before you go any further, make sure you've chosen the goal you really want with all of your heart and soul. A personal growth plan that you are only lukewarm about is a waste of time. Don't settle for a lesser objective, go for what you gets you excited and motivated.
A word of caution. Often we are tempted to pursue goals that are not truly our own. We may be trying to make a relative happy, or to fit in to a certain crowd. We may think we want something, but deep down know that it is not good for us. Your goal should be approved not only by your heart, but by your mind and conscience. A Lose Weight Diet Plan works for someone who is truly overweight, even a little. It is a terrible idea for someone who borders on anorexic.
It is important to be realistic about what accomplishing this goal will do for you. Losing weight will make you feel better, look better, be healthier. It may not make that special someone fall in love with you, it probably won't make you into a movie star.
Lastly, if everything checks out, ask yourself if you can motivate yourself even more. Asking questions about what you already know often gives you your best ideas.
3. Action: Learn about your goal.
Questions:
- What resources are needed to achieve your personal growth goal?
- What information do you need to know how to achieve your goal?
Background:
We all know what knowledge is. The more of it you have, the more power you have. A psychological personal growth plan, for example, is best the more you understand yourself and your own psyche. Learning a skill such as a sport is much more straightforward.
4. Action: Break your personal growth plan down into elements.
Questions:
- What different skills are needed for your overall personal growth goal?
- What different factors must be addressed to achieve your goal?
Background:
A Lose Weight Diet Plan involves many elements. It involves mindset, diet, exercise, sleep, and many other factors. Isolate each factor so that you will know the different actions necessary to influence them. Singing involves breathing, vocal technique, interpretation and so forth. Good voice teachers give their students exercises to develop each of these elements.
5. Action: Learn from role models.
Questions:
- Who has achieved what you are aiming to achieve that you can learn from?
- How can you learn what they did and adapt it to your own plan?
- How else can you learn from the experiences of others?
Background:
Learning from role models is not a shortcut. It's solid science. It's using the research of others. Actors don't create characters out of their imaginations. They observe people and use what they see to create real characters. By studying someone who has accomplished what you are committed to do, you'll know that it works and how it works.
6. Action: Define your rules for success.
Questions:
- What is the minimum achievement that will allow you to claim success?
- Is there a time frame involved?
- What is your most reasonable expectation of this program?
Background:
Many a personal action plan has failed because the person had unreasonable rules for success. If your Lose Weight Diet Plan calls for you to lose 100 pounds in a month, your rules for success are a recipe for failure. You'll get discouraged and give up.
Look at you role models, see how much they accomplished in how much time. Reward yourself for each small step forward. There is an old saying: "According to the effort is the reward." Focus on doing the right things and have patience. If you are not making progress, then is the time to reevaluate your plan. And if you slip, get right back up again.
Result:You have defined the rules for success. You already have a strong idea of what is entailed in this program.
You have created a compelling vision in your personal growth plan. NEXT ..