Do you have a Personal Development Plan? If so, when did you last review it to check it properly reflects what you need now? If not, do you really need one?
I believe everyone needs a personal development plan. Without such a plan you are like a rudderless ship in a big ocean, simply going aimlessly wherever the tides take it which may be somewhere very different from where you would wish to be. With such a plan you know the direction in which you intend to go, and can then measure the actions you are taking to ensure they are moving you in that direction, even if only vaguely.
Your True Self
In the front of your Personal Development Plan you should indicate what kind of person you want to be.
You should meditate deeply before you answer that question. It may seem a simple question, but it is not. You may think you know the answer to that question but unless you have already done a lot of work meditating to find the answer then you probably do not know it.
Many people find, when they begin a meditation of this kind, that what they really want to be is not at all what they thought at first. Do not be alarmed if this happens to you. It is very normal. Our inner desires have usually been supressed for so long, and replaced by what other people want us to be, that we do not recognize them when they first emerge from the depths of our being.
Just doing this exercise is already a big jump forward. Once you know what you want to be it is not a big step to start living your life in a way that matches this. You will find once you do this you will be so much happier and feel so much more satisfied. You are no longer living in conflict with your inner desires, which is what you have probably been doing up to now, as that is what most people do.
You will find you are now closer to your true self, which is where you need to be.
Goals and Ambitions
Next you should note down what you want to achieve in life, whether you are near the beginning or the end of that life. What are your goals and ambitions?
Again, meditate on this. As your goals and ambitions rise to the surface of your consciousness, check they are properly aligned with the person you really want to be. If not, then they cannot be your real goals and ambitions. Either that or you have not yet finished discovering who it is you truly want to be.
These may be very long-term goals and ambitions. In fact, it is important to have long-term goals and ambitions, otherwise you have no way of knowing whether what you are doing is moving you in the right direction.
If you have not already done so, read the article I wrote last week on achieving goals. You can find it immediately below this article (http://iwanttoimprovemyself.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/how-to-achieve-goals.html).
Action Plan
Now you write down the steps you should take in order to reach your goals - your Action Plan. Sometimes this will be simple actions you take yourself. But also there will be tools you can use. These may include using a personal development coach, following a particular personal development programme, etc. Where there is a cost involved, then your plan should also include your budget, and how you are going to put this money aside if you do not already have it saved up.
Be Flexible
Recognize that as you move through life things will change. Once you start working through a Personal Development Plan this will probably happen even more dramatically. New ideas will come to you. Some of what you have written in your plan will probably now be irrelevant. There will also probably be some obvious gaps which did not appear to be there when you first drew up your plan. So be ready to reflect on that plan and change it as necessary, as it should be a constantly evolving document.
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