The 4 Lessons I Learnt From Personal Development
It seems like personal development has become a lot more normalised in the past few years, and that people are becoming aware of what it means. Does it mean everyone is doing it? Of course not! We all know what drugs are but that doesn't mean we all want to give them a try.
How my story started
I was first introduced to the personal development world when I started my online business back in 2019. The community of people I spoke to weekly, regularly talked about it and what it meant. However, it wasn't until mid 2020 that I started to take it seriously. You can probably guess, from the date that it was in fact COVID that gave me the kick up the bum to do something about it.
There we were about to have our lives turned upside down and I refused to let it suck me into a dark place mentally. That's when I found the book 'The Miracle Morning', and the community that came with it. The concept of the book is to create a morning routine which supports your growth, and sets you up to start each day, the right way. I was grateful to this community for connecting me with two other women who were at the start of the same journey, and who became my accountability buddies for sticking to my morning goals.
My routine has changed many times over in the past 2-3 years, but each time has taught me something new and so I wanted to share my 4 biggest lessons with you so far. Maybe you are just starting, or are on your own journey of personal growth, and so I hope these lessons guide you in the same way they did me.
Lesson 1 - You don't grow just by reading, you have to take the action
This might sound so simple when you first read it, but I genuinely missed the lesson completely for the first year of my journey. In 2020, I thought the most important thing to do, was to read as many personal development books as you could, as quickly as you could. I would storm through every book I could get my hands on in the misunderstanding that it would change my life just like that. To an extent, I was taking in a lot of what I was reading, and it did 'rewire' my brain with regards to certain areas of my life, but that wasn't enough. In areas such as my business, I wasn't seeing the growth I expected! I was reading all these books and yet, why was nothing happening?
In all of the books I had read, I had missed one key point:
You have to take action to see results!
Reading the book is only the first step, the key to seeing real change is to take what the book teaches you and put it into practice. Reading about how to be better with money, doesn't make you better with money. You have to follow the action steps in your life in order to become better with money.
Lesson 2 - Growth isn't linear
Now you know that reading books doesn't solve everything unless you take action, here is the next key lesson in growth. It isn't LINEAR!
It would be nice to work on something once, and to never need to do it again but life isn't like that. Like any muscle, you have to keep training it for any changes to really stick. You don't go to the gym once, and then you have abs for life. The world is a weird, yet wonderful place and it will throw all sorts of things at you. It is in the tough times that you will truly need to put what you have learnt into practice. Making the right choices when you are happy, feeling good, and positive is the easy bit. Making that same choice when your in a ring and life is taking swings at you, that's not so easy.
If you can accept and be prepared for growth to go up, and down and repeat key steps when needed, then you will have a wonderful growth journey ahead of you.
Step 3 - You can't make other people want to grow
I have to admit, this was one of the most challenging steps for me. After finding this wonderful world of personal development, and seeing first hand what it can do, I wanted to share it with everyone I know. The trouble is, most people weren't interested in what I had to say. I'm pretty sure a lot of the people I know believed I had been 'brainwashed' and that I was living in a dream world, waiting for me to wake up from it.
I had to face the reality that I cannot make people want to change, just because I have. Even if I know that deep down, they would be happier, healthier, and all around better for it. There are some people in my life who I actually started to struggle being around because their negativity energy felt so heavy on me now that I had shifted mine. I was once blind to the level of negativity I myself was putting out into the world, and now I was being crushed under the weight of other people's. The key with this step is to remember that you 'can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink'. Instead of focusing on what you want other people to do, focus on your journey, and the right people will change when they are ready. You also have to accept that for some people in your life, they will never be ready for change and that's ok too. It's not your responsibility to change them, nor should you judge them for it.
4 - There is no destination
If you have read this far, then thank you!
The world of personal development changed my life, and I will forever be thankful to have found it. My final lessons is that of accepting that this is a life long commitment. Personal development doesn't have a destination, or a stop gap, it is an open road that keeps on going. With each new level you grow to, you will face similar or new challenges to overcome. You will be forever fighting against the old narrative of who you once were, and surrounded by a world that tells you 'it's too good to be true'.
Remember that when you feel lost, or like you are being diverted, come back to you. Come back to the simple steps and remind yourself of how far you have come, and everything you have overcome already. This path is one of the most beautiful ones to find yourself on, and along the way, you will find others who understand and are doing the same. Trust me when I say it is totally worth it!
I really hope this post has been helpful and that at least one of my lessons will support you on your own journey.
Why not head over to my Instagram: Paige | Mindset & Motivation Coach (@_turnanewpaige_) • Instagram photos and videos and share your favourite lesson with me.
Now,
Turnanewpage x
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