Personal Development

"The most difficult part of a journey is the first step" - Ancient Proverb

How do you define success? Think carefully, for your answer determines what your first step should be. Personal development covers many areas, from goal setting to being a better negotiator. Unless you know what you want to accomplish, you can spend years wandering from subject to subject, without ever really getting anywhere. Knowledge isn't power - it's Italic textpotentialItalic text power. It only becomes powerful when it's applied.

Perhaps the best place to start your journey of self-exploration is to define your own personal goals. When you know where you're going you have a much better chance of getting there. With this in mind, let's look at the goal setting process.

Before you can set any goals, you need to examine your own values. What's important to you? What are your major objectives? There are many areas people wish to improve, for instance:

Career Relationships Fitness Finances Personal Accomplishment Community Service Spirituality Knowledge Attitude

These are some of the major areas people wish to improve. The list is far from all-inclusive. You need to decide what you want to accomplish with your life to determine the steps you need to take to get there.

Take some time to decide - if you want a better job, you need to ask yourself what Italic textyouItalic text think a better job would be. For some people the answer is simple - one that pays more money. This is a perfect example of an answer that is quick, easy, and wrong. If you were offered a million dollars a week to jump out of airplanes without a parachute I bet it would qualify as a job that pays more, but I rather doubt that you would accept the position.

You need to analyze your values, and find an objective that fits what's important to you. For instance, you might want a job that pays twice what you make now, without violating your own personal ethics. No one can define your ethics for you - you need to do that yourself. Some people feel it is unethical to eat any animal products, while others have no problem eating meat every day. The important point is that you need to seperate what you want from what others want for you. It's your life, so you need to decide what's right for you. You must decide, not your family, your boss, or your neighbors.

Once you have decided what is important, your journey can begin. From this starting point you can determine your objectives in life. Then you can set goals and take action.