Personal Growth - Be Your Best Self

Personal Growth Means Change

I recently mourned the death of one of my dear friends. As I listened to the wonderful comments made by so many as to the kind of p1DE5erson he was, I stopped for a moment to look inside myself to see who I am. There was enormous room for personal growth in my life. Is there room for improvement in your life? Let us take a moment to learn how we can grow to become the person we hope to be.

We all want to be the best that we can be. We sometimes see others and admire certain characteristic traits about them. We have read volumes of self-help books in hopes of fine tuning ourselves. True many of these books help but self-growth goes way beyond reading books. It means we must stop wishing for change and becomes proactive in creating the change. Self-growth is about change.

In order for change to take place within you, you must first define your objectives. Know what changes you want to make. You are aware of the qualities you want to discard from your life. Write them down. Here are some ways to begin to do some introspective work to help you to define the changes you want to make in your life.

Make a list of some habits you've often wanted to change.

Do you know how you are perceived? Try to get a feel of how others think of you. Make a note of how you want to be perceived and how to can behave to achieve that.

Make mental notes of how you treat others.

Think back to criticisms you have received in the past.

Speak to an objective friend.

Observe the behaviors of those you admire and make a note.

Make a note of behaviors you see in others that you dislike and look within to see if you share any of those traits. Try to be objective.

Personal Growth Means Introspection

True we have to love and accept ourselves unconditionally but we must always strive to be the best that we can be. Self-acceptance should in no way interfere with your ability to be your best. As a matter of fact it should have the reverse effect. It should allow you to know the real you and to have an awareness of where you need to make changes. This awareness will determine how serious you are to grow beyond your current limits.

Take a moment right now to evaluate your life. Look inside to examine the areas where you would like to improve on.

Define your character. Who are you when no one is looking?

How is your health? Are you doing everything possible to take care of your body?

How would your friends, coworkers, people who come in contact describe you?

How is your mind? Are you emotionally strong? Is your self-confidence and self-esteem at an all time high? If not would you like to find emotional balance?

How is your spiritual health? Do you feed your spiritual need? How is your soul's condition?

How do you treat others? Are you kind or are you condescending to people? Do you give of your time to help others that are less fortunate or has self-centeredness consumed you?

How is your ego? Is it intact?

Are you humble or are you into flaunting it or showing off?

Are you a good parent? Do your yell at your kids? Do you put in the time with them to raise emotionally balanced children? Do you help to build strong self-esteem?

As you look inside it is important to understand that there is no single recipe that defines how each person can grow personally. It is a hunger for change and a willingness to keep at it no matter if it takes a lifetime. Remember you are not trying to achieve perfection; you are only striving to be the best that you can be.

Personal Growth means Humility

In order for one to grow, one must be humble enough to recognize and accept the areas where improvement is needed. For you to benefit from introspection and self-reflection a clear sense of humility must exist. This sense of humility will create honest introspection that can make us more aware of the characteristics and behaviors we need to improve on. This kind of humility puts ego aside, creating an open-mindedness to accept constructive criticism. This allows for tremendous growth.

With a spirit of humility you can:

Lose self-centeredness

Better understand yourself and your motives

Better understand your behavior and accept the need for change

Recognize your mistakes and accept responsibility for your actions.

Recognize the goodness in you

Become more understanding of others

Be more forgiving

Humility is the beginning of knowledge. It is the start of that mindset to gain more wisdom and improve self. The know-it-all attitude is laid to rest, enabling honest introspection, which promotes personal growth.

Achieve Personal Growth

Once you have humbled yourself, done the honest self-reflection, and gained the awareness, identify the areas in which you need to improve. You must believe that you can achieve the personal growth you want and let go of self-doubt.

Make a list of the things you desire to personally achieve. Prioritize the list and select the most urgent issue.

Learn everything there is to know about it, whether it is losing weight, letting go of anger, or improving your spiritual life. The more information you have, the more motivation and determination you will develop.

As you become more educated in your subject matter, decide if you can implement these changes alone or if you need the assistance of a professional or expert in the field to help you. Getting help is positive step toward achieving personal growth so don't feel inadequate if you need help.

Develop a plan for achieving your goal. It must be clearly organized starting from a long-term goal to daily tasks that move you closer each day toward your goal.

When discomforts arise, don't give up. Refocus on your plan and exercise the discipline to stick with it. This is where a coach or a professional can assist you.

Daily positive affirmations and self-talk are necessary to maintain the motivation to grow.

Have faith to believe that you will succeed. Pray for strength to stay the course.

It is an admirable quality to be able to identify the areas you need to make changes in your life and even more commendable to take the steps forward to do so. Personal Growth is a catalyst for success in every aspect of your life. Begin the journey today.

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