Feeling trapped in your habits? Self-development and self-help are trendy terms, but how to achieve them? Do you make new resolutions but fail to keep to them? This is much more common than you might think. But it’s time to leave whatever imperfections you decide behind, and achieve betterment and improvement in the New Year! You can almost certainly improve your habits and behaviours and a well thought out self-development plan will help you keep on track. We’ll provide you with the tips you need to create an incredible plan!

You Have to Want it

First and foremost, you have to set a goal you actually want to achieve, and be ready for it to become a priority. Think about what’s most important to you? What achievements would make you feel successful? What skills do you want to develop? Your goals can be anything, ranging from business, financial or fitness related. Pick a goal that will have a positive and enriching effect on your life – that way you are more likely to pursue it. Now that you have committed to the goal, write it down. Yes, that’s right, we’ll start our self-development plan from the end! This way we can work backwards with the goal visualised in your head to develop a timeline and specific steps of action.

Do it Straight Away

There’s no point in waiting around – whatever your goal may be, start working on it now. Delaying the task will only make you procrastinate more or kill your motivation before you even get started.

Divide your goal into smaller targets and set a deadline for each. This way you’ll add some weight to your self-development plan. Make sure your deadlines are realistic but not too easy to achieve, so you feel more accomplished when you meet your target.

Inspiration

Keeping yourself inspired will help you out when things get tough. When we start a new resolution, the first couple of days are easy because that’s when our moral and motivation are the highest. However, once the first level of excitement is gone, it’s hard to keep up with your plan.

If you could find someone who has achieved your goal or has a great self-development plan, you should talk to them. It could be good to find someone with authority in the area you are trying to improve in. Just remember that a self-development plan should be personal, just as a good goal is, so you should avoid trying to copy your inspiration. Try to adapt their methods to your own tastes.

Baby Steps

If you bite off more than you can chew, you are bound to choke. The same philosophy can be applied to your self-development plan. Gradual and continuous progress towards your final goal ensures you stay on track and increases the likelihood of achieving your aims.

Break down your self-development plan into sections with clear and realistic targets. You could use the Pomodoro Method to help you.

This way you can achieve your goals in short bursts of hyper focus, with frequent breaks. It has a high success rate, this could work for you and your aims, but it really depends on the goal you set yourself and the activities necessary in achieving it.

Remember to measure your progress – this will be extra motivating, and you’ll be sure you’re staying on track.

Find a Friend

If you and your friend have a similar goal, why not embark on this journey together? This is usually a great idea, because there will be someone to keep you accountable, motivated and will help you stay on track. Sometimes when we’re not feeling good enough, a pair of unbiased eyes is particularly useful to help you complete your goal and show you a different perspective. They could even share their experience, giving you valuable tips or just be a cheerleader when you’re feeling down.

Attitude is Key

The main reason people don’t stick to their personal development plans is that they start to get a negative attitude towards it. If you’re being negative towards yourself, you’re also bound to set yourself unrealistic standards. If you stay positive, even when things are not going according to plan, you are much more likely to push through the hardships and complete your ultimate goal. If something goes wrong, don’t put yourself down, learn from this experience! Once you feel good and confident about yourself you will be in the right mindset to complete your self-development plan.

Another key attitude to nurture is taking your plan seriously, otherwise, you will neglect or forget about it.

Abandon Perfection

Embrace the fact that you won’t obtain perfection – sometimes unforeseen circumstances can affect our self-development plan, no matter how well we crafted it. If you become too focused on getting everything right, even on the first try, you will just get frustrated and discouraged.

Instead, enjoy the journey – not just the final outcome.