Welcome!

Welcome Smart Self Development Plan PostIt is great to have you here! Personal Development has become one of my greatest passions these last years, as I went through quite a few learning curves I believe, in my private life, as well as in my professional career. But honestly, who has not?

I also like practicality and structure (which sometimes can be a burden as well), so, in simple terms those three ingredients make up the backbone of this Smart Self Development Plan Blog. I have set it up as a means for sharing with you and for receiving your comments and feedback on the tips, techniques and material on this somewhat soft, but still very interesting and challenging topic.

The Power of Choice

I would like to share a personal story with you, which hopefully also explains further why I have set up this blog.

Beginning of 2012, I moved back to Germany, but into a new city, started a new job, got to know people, and things just generally went well once I settled in. In May, I participated at a workshop on self managing leadership (as one of the core elements), which was for me very much about confirming my key drivers in life and seeing how they influence my actions and behaviour, at work as well as at home. During this workshop, I was asked to share personal information with some of my peers, not private information, ‘just’ personal. Their responses and feedback were eye opening. And at that point, I perceived this event as a gift, not as an obligation. One final part was to set up an action plan, and as excited I was, I filled it out with plenty of things to do over the following weeks.

Within two weeks of getting back to my normal routine at home and in the office, I did not look at my personal development plan once. Now, one can say that this is normal, but for me it was partly due to the fact that I had one particular action in mind and I actually did work on it. However, really no excuse for the rest…

During my summer vacation, the action plan came back into my mind, and I said to myself, “Hang on a minute! You really appreciated this workshop, came up with some good ideas and goals, and now, life is back to ‘normal’ and nothing is happening?”

Getting back from the holidays, I looked at the plan and started attacking the most important topics! Some of them were easier than others. Old habits were fighting with new habits – and still are. After a while, however, I could see the changes kicking in. For instance, one of my goals was to get up earlier in the mornings to do sports before going to work. I have been doing different types of sport for quite a while, but not bright and early in the morning – so, this was tough in the beginning, but doable. Two months later, I did it regularly without big hassle.

That is why I really want to continue to work on myself to improve things. I have seen and am seeing that even little changes can really make a difference. In my relations with others notably. I did have a couple of crucial conversations over the last months, and tell you what, I have never had a better relationship with those people!

A Question to you

So what’s really keeping you from putting your self development plan fully into action? If you do not happen to have one, what is the hardest thing for you to get started?

 

Image credit: iStockPhoto

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