Self-development: where to start?

To get rid of the turmoil in life and to be a holistic, interesting, harmonious personality is a desire that sooner or later arises in every person. It often remains just an empty sound, because many are lost and do not know where to start when the desire to reach a new level remains unrealized. To avoid this, it is necessary to have a clear plan, which allows not to turn from the accepted path.

Self-development: where to start a plan?

Self-development is a ceaseless process of working on yourself to achieve a goal. You can do this only if you have a clear and consistent plan. The latter should be made in writing. The format can be very different – “the balance wheel”, a visualization board, a table and so on.

The main thing at the beginning of self-development is to clearly understand that a person becomes full-fledged by achieving success at the following levels:

• physical;
• social;
• intellectual;
• spiritual.

The priorities and goals that each area includes depend directly on your age, gender, and personal preferences and goals. They may differ strikingly in different time periods, but are always interrelated. “Gaps” arising from stagnation, that is, a lack of personal self-development, make themselves felt later on.

Where should a girl or woman begin her self-development?

Young people are ambitious and goal-oriented. Youth and vigor allow you to succeed in every area of life, but you should not try to spend precious time, which is a limited resource, dispersed on everything. You should focus on the most important tasks.

In a young girl, these are usually:

• excellent physical shape;
• a comfortable social circle;
• a beloved young man and a promising marriage;
• education;
• good relations with parents;
• employment.

The goals described can be combined with each other or reduced to just a couple of points. It all depends on what has already been achieved. Some girls have already found their second half, others have entered a good university and so on.

In adulthood, a representative of the beautiful half of humanity are already quite different goals and objectives:

• Build a successful career;
• Create and maintain/maintain a harmonious relationship with your spouse and/or children;
• Not to lose myself in household chores and affairs, finding time to keep fit and attractive;
• To live in harmony with oneself;
• to be or remain intellectually savvy and developed.

As a woman matures, she achieves success in one area of life or another, so her priorities begin to change and her time becomes more limited than when she was young.

Where do I start with self-development as a teenager and a man?

Boys’ goals and objectives are similar to those of girls, but differ in terms of personal life. Education and self-realization become the primary goal. It is necessary to do everything in order to be able to earn good money in the future. Hobbies and creative development should be of no small importance. This makes guys interesting in the eyes of friends and the fair sex.

Self-development of a man as a person is inextricably linked to the social status and material benefits, as well as hobbies. This is determined by the gender roles accepted in society. Financial stability determines how successful a representative of the stronger half is. Of course, other spheres should not be neglected either. Lack of balance over time leads to emotional and psychological problems and feelings of dissatisfaction.

Step-by-step instructions: where to start self-development

There is no universal development plan, as is already clear from what has been described above. Each person has his own plan, but it is made according to a certain principle:

1. Take a pencil and a piece of paper or use one of the applications on your computer and write down all four areas. Indicate which one has a problem.
2. Write down next to it what is currently unsatisfactory. Do not be “petty”. Write down absolutely everything, because it is in this creative process that the truth is born.
3. Carefully re-read all the goals and justify the need and necessity of each. Not all tasks that seem important are. Some may be just from the category of “I want to, but it will not give me anything.
4. Analyze each item and try to spell out the factors that prevent you from achieving the desired goal. It is necessary to mention absolutely all points. Sometimes even insignificant little things can have a detrimental effect on achieving the goal.
5. Draw up a strategy. It should include action. No abstractions and postponement of things to come, only on the facts and the case, such as “get up at 7.00,” “enroll in English courses,” and so on. It is obligatory to designate a time interval. If this is not done, the process and implementation will drag on or never happen.

These five step-by-step points should make a clear plan that will require clear implementation.

Self-development and self-improvement: where to start implementing the plan?

The main problem many people encounter is that prescribed goals and objectives remain unrealized. As a rule, this happens because a person does not set deadlines for implementation. Each goal must be realistic, reasonable, and achievable by a specific time frame. Without this condition, the plan becomes a wish list that remains only on paper.

A self-development plan is written out in a three-level order:

• Current for the day, week, quarter.
• Operational for one year.
• Perspective (strategic) up to five years.

To achieve global goals, it is necessary to work and develop on a daily basis. This allows you to get the desired result in the short or long term. In our case – to become a versatile and interesting person. The ideal would be the following algorithm of action:

• you write a plan;
• Write down what you need to do to achieve the goal with time intervals;
• make a diary or a diary where you write down the daily routine with amendments to the plan;
• monitor your actions for the current day, make adjustments, find out what irritants are interfering with the implementation of a goal.

The last point is mandatory. It allows you to identify and eliminate obstacles. You should not forget about small incentives, which are always needed. It motivates you to do better.

Typical mistakes

Self-development is a road to a bright future with various obstacles to which you need to be prepared:

• Laziness. The main enemy in any business. Only by doing what you have planned with redoubled vigor can you overcome idleness. This does not mean that it is necessary to work round the clock. It is necessary to have a rest, but according to the plan, for example, on Sunday and so on. The rest of the time you always stick to the plan.
• Procrastination. Do not allow procrastination. Allowing it, there is a risk that it will become a habit. Procrastination should not be confused with laziness. The latter forces you to do nothing, and the first often bribes the fact that you are engaged in other things, not idle, but, in fact, even farther away from achieving the goal.
• Focusing on other people’s plans. Under no circumstances should you copy other people’s models. Always let the information you receive pass through you, choose only what is important and adapt it to your own needs. Compare yourself today only with yourself tomorrow.
• Susceptibility to failure. Not always get everything from the first time and upset about it is impossible. Learn to resiliently tolerate all failures.
• Fanaticism. The flip side of laziness and procrastination is rushing headlong into the maelstrom. It quickly becomes exhausting and devastating. You want to become a successful businessman and you literally work day and night for the benefit of your own business, but you get terribly tired, and there are problems in your personal life and health. This cannot be called a balance and has nothing to do with self-development.

You have to work on yourself all the time. Nothing should stop you. Steadfastly pursue the goal. Harden your character and do not forget that this is the only way to develop into a successful person. The main thing is not to forget about the balance of the four spheres.

General recommendations

Harmony with yourself and your environment, success in business can be achieved many times faster if you take it as a rule:

• read the relevant literature, which raises issues of time management, planning, success, and so on;
• pay attention to health and physical form, as it directly affects performance, stress resistance, sleep and, of course, appearance;
• Surround yourself with positive people, because negative and constantly whining friends and colleagues will slow you down (if there is no other option, reduce the communication to a minimum);
• Make a hobby, which will be your encouragement in achieving any goal.

Books should be chosen according to one’s age and, of course, gender. Methods and techniques suitable for men are not always effective for women and vice versa. In addition, their goals may also differ strikingly.