If you are not investing in personal development, you may be limiting your true potential. Personal development affects your entire life, not just your virtual assistant business or personal activities. It’s amazing how many people don’t try to improve themselves. These are the same people who wonder why they are not getting anywhere with their lives.
Here are some guidelines to help you invest in you:
Imagine How You Want to Shape Your Life
Without a vision, you won’t be able to determine what kind of life you want to live. You need to balance the changes you want professionally and personally. The two will ultimately overlap. If you imagine yourself being more helpful to others, this trait will become part of both. There may be certain aspects of your personal development that you believe are specific to your personal life but may eventually carry over to your professional life. If you’ve wanted to increase your skills as a community leader, this could easily be incorporated into your professional career. The key is to envision what this new skill will look like.
Assess Your Current Situation
Before you make any changes in your life, determine where you stand with your life as it currently exists. Identify strengths and weaknesses to help you formulate a plan to make the necessary changes.
Set Goals
Once you know your strengths and weaknesses, create some goals to strive to complete. These should include high-level goals as well as action steps. Most importantly, set milestones with firm dates for these action steps.
Consider Alternatives
There can be valid reasons why you can’t meet certain actions or goals. Instead of abandoning the entire personal development plan, choose alternative steps. Avoid reverting to these steps because they are easier than the main goals.
Evaluate How You Are Doing
When you reach a milestone, see how you did against the plan of action steps. This is a crucial step, and it’s important to be realistic and truthful. The best way to handle this is to have someone else perform this for you. It may not be easy to hear, but the benefits will be well worth it.
Keep it Simple
If you add a bunch of unobtainable goals to your plan, you are likely setting yourself up for failure. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to push yourself. It just means being realistic about your capabilities.
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