365 Personal Development Tips

Personal Development Tips 1-4

Recently I read an amazing book that has motivated me to commit to writing and posting more often than I have been. The book I read is called NOT A LIFE COACH by James Smith, I highly recommend you check it out, a great and often funny read. The book reminded me of many things and also taught me a thing or two, mainly that to achieve my dreams I need to work harder than I ever have before. I am not afraid of hard work therefore, the first step for me is to nurture this blog by committing to providing everyone 365 tips. This of course just the tip of the iceberg, so watch this space a lot planned for 2021.

Here are the first 4 tips enjoy!

Tip #1 – Stop Making New Year’s Resolutions

As we enter another new year many of us will set new year’s resolutions which according to the oxford dictionary is ‘a firm decision to do or not to do something’.

Often people who make a New year’s resolutions a huge percentage of these people, are making the same resolutions in 12 months’ time. Are you one of these people, that year after year you set new year’s resolutions but by the time Easter comes around you have settled back into your old habits or given up on the resolutions all together as it was just too hard?

There is a good reason why we continue failing at the resolutions we set every new year. In mostly all cases we do not have a plan.

The resolution is a firm decision to do something. You make a decision such as lose some weight, join a gym, eat better, save more money, etc, but for the majority of people this is where the resolution fails. The reason here is simple you have only made a decision. Your decision needs a plan, starting with a smart goal. A smart goal is a great way to ensure you have planned your resolution properly.

Smart goal:

Something you can stick to

Measureable, How do you know you are achieving this goal?

Achievable, How are you going to achieve this goal?

Realistic, Is your goal a realistic goal or is it just impossible to achieve?

Time, does you goal have a time when you will achieve this by?

Planning when to start is equally important. The resolution you made at New year’s would normally start on the worst time of year, January 1^st. Instead of making your resolutions to start January 1^st, think about the best possible time that you can start your smart goal that you can stick to for at least 21 days. According to Dr Maxwell Maltz a plastic surgeon in the 1950s published his findings and found that it takes 21 days to form a habit. If you have anything going on between January 1^st and January 21^st that would hinder your smart goal, then change your start date.

Furthermore, you may lack direction, knowledge, motivation, and determination to achieve the resolution.

Often your resolution is unachievable. Many people overestimate just how hard it can be to achieve a goal like lose weight or change your eating habits. If you have made the same resolution year after year then it is time to stop and think about why you are not achieving the goal. Maybe you need professional help.

Personal development is about setting and achieving goals to become better. Therefore say no to resolutions and yes to smart goals. Set these goals whenever you feel the need to achieve something. Do not be governed by a New Year and always remember to make a plan because failing to plan is planning is fail.

Tip #2 – Start Saving Money Every Week

If you read any type of financial, how to become rich books, you will find than most financial Gurus will say save at least 10% of what you earn every week. I know from experience this is not always that easy and more often than we do not save any money at all.

A tip I was given when I was very young was to save your money, I only took on this advice when I had kids of my own, but it is never too late to start saving. Save something, anything, just save something each week no matter what. Start small and build it up.

I have found what works for me is to find a savings account that you can set up on a direct debit, with the highest percentage rate you can find. Once you set it up just leave and forget about it. Start with as little as $10 per week and before you know it you will start to see a nice nest egg. I have done this for my kids as well.

Did you know if you saved $100 per week you would have $5,200 in the bank at the end of the year with interest, even at 2% you would have $5,304 which would compound as each year progresses, (Year 2 $10,714), (Year 3 $16,232), (Year 4 $21,860) not bad for 4 years approx $1000 of free money in 4 years.

Tip #3 – Work Out (Exercise) Everyday

Need I say anymore on this topic?

There is a mountain of evidence that exercise improves you in more ways that you can count, here are some of my favourite things exercising can do for you.

1. Makes you happier
2. Healthier
3. Fitter
4. Stronger
5. Better posture and strong core
6. You sleep better
7. Breath better
8. Gives you more confidence
9. You can avoid nasty illness
10. Avoid getting diabetes
11. Increase blood supply to your vital organs
12. Avoid heart damage or a stroke
13. Become more youthful
14. And best of all you can look hot in the mirror naked

Tip #4 – Learn Something New Everyday

There are many things that can be satisfying and learning something new is definitely at the top of the list for me. I love it when I learn something new everyday especially with the plethora of information available to learn. I especially like learning new things out of my scope of expertise and find it especially useful in my personal development, for example new words, trivia, history or a new skill to name a few.

What I recently found interesting is that we often don’t know what we think we know until we don’t know. Confused?

Let me put it into perspective. I consider myself pretty intelligent and think I know the meaning of English words, that is until I used a word recently and my 6 year old son asked me what does that word mean.

I was caught off guard and thought how do I explain a word in a way that a 6 year old can understand without asking more questions. Not as easy as it sounds, let me tell you. What I have learnt is that I have become complacent with the English language and taken words for granted. I have never thought about the meaning of a word until I had to explain it so that a 6 year old can understand, thank God for Google.

Personal development is all about learning news things. However, challenge yourself to learn things you know nothing about. Watch documentaries, read books on topics you are unfamiliar with, learn a new skill on LinkedIn learning, there are a plethora of ways to learn something new. Google is a great place to start.