Ten Mental Strength Steps for Personal Growth
So you’ve come to a decision to create a life of power, purpose and passion! You want your life to change and you want your world to be different.
But you have also come to realize that the changes you want will only happen after YOU change yourself first and experience personal growth.
You know that this will mean calling on all your mental strength and going through a process which is often difficult and painstaking.
Fortunately, the path of personal growth is well trodden and others have shared experiences which will help you take these steps to personal transformation.
Here are ten mental strength steps to help you along to personal growth.
- Maybe your world has been just shattered and now you want to pick up the pieces and build something new. Or maybe you just gradually came into an awareness of how you no longer want things to go on as they are. The first thing you need to do is do some serious, analytical reflection. Reflection is the first of many steps to personal growth and it means going beyond blaming others or outside circumstances for the unsatisfactory state of affairs that you find yourself in. Neither does it mean indulging in self-pity or self recrimination.
- Figure out which of your assumptions need to be challenged. An employee who thought that job promotions would automatically come with years of service may find others being promoted instead. There is now the need to examine the belief that promotion is automatic. The parent who assumes his children will be around to take care of him will need to reassess that assumption and build a new framework with which to view life and the future.
- Focus on how you want to change your circumstances, yourself and what plans you will put into action to achieve your new goals. Find out exactly what you want in place of what you see. Of all the steps to personal transformation, this is probably the most difficult because this is where you need to let go of all bitterness and bondage to a failed past. In other words, if your starting point was a co-worker stabbing you in the back to get the promotion you deserved, the new future you create for yourself cannot be one that has this co-worker being fired while you get to be his boss. Revenge and vindictiveness have no place in your way forward.
- Break down your long-range goals into smaller, manageable portions where you can achieve small successes to strengthen you. Ask yourself what you want done in five years, in three years and in a year. Then, try to come up with what needs to get done in three months or even a month. Use the smaller time frame to see how well you are doing. If part of your plan is achieving physical fitness maybe a first month’s objective could be to cut down on fat or remove soda from your diet and exercising for thirty minutes three times a week.
- Assess and reassess your progress. Give yourself a set time every month or every two weeks to see how faithfully you are sticking to your plan. During your assessment, don’t forget to ask where you did well and where you need to do better. Be fair in your evaluation but be kind to yourself too.
- Try new options and explore new aptitudes as you embark on your direction in life. If you always thought of yourself as someone who had no head for figures then look for classes that can help you grow in this direction. Dare to cut your hair – after all it will grow back if you don’t like the way it looks. Try a new shade of lipstick. Experiment!
- Pick one thing to change and work on it. If you are trying to be a more accomplished person, make a survey of the skills you need and prioritize which one you want to acquire. Tackle the one you select first. Unless you go back to school full-time, you won’t be able to learn everything at once. Don’t fall victim to unrealistic expectations which will just lead to frustration.
- Change your surroundings. Take a vacation. Make new friends. Move to a new city if you want to. Look for another job if you think that will be more fulfilling.
- Anchor yourself on your spirituality. No matter what your religious persuasion is, take time to care for your spirit and nurture it. This will help you be in tune with a small, still voice that will guide you through the transformation you want to make.
- Pick up a copy of Develop the Mental Strength of a Warrior. It’s your bible to personal growth and personal transformation.
