Personal Development

Personal Development is a lifelong process and it seems like never-ending. I would say it is a cycle. Human has always been chasing for 3 things in life: Health + Wealth + Happiness. To fulfill these 3 purposes, we have to keep on improving and developing ourselves. If you do not want to get better on any of the above three; you can stop reading this blog immediately. On the other hand, I strongly recommend this blog to people who are treading the path of life in pursuit of excellence in the areas of health, wealth & happiness.

To start developing oneself, we have to start with ideas, brainstorming, setting the end target in mind, developing a plan and taking first step (irrespective of its size, smaller the better). It took me years to understand and realize the power of Chinese proverb - ‘Journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step’. This gives me courage to embark on any journey for excellence. Well, lets us begin with ideation. 


Three of the best sources for ideas and inspiration are:

  1.      Stay in company of great people, whatever field they may be from. If you ask me, what is the single most influential factor in deciding the destiny of a person? My answer is – Company i.e. the kind of people we live with makes maximum impact on our lives. Spending time with happy, healthy and educated people helps us to develop happy, healthy & learning mindset. People call it networking with great people or finding mentors. The idea is simple: Walk with the wise and not otherwise.   

2.      Read books written by and on successful people. These are the oceans of great ideas, insights and food for your head & heart. During my childhood in school I read the basic needs of human beings are food, clothes & shelter. But now I realized for me its food, clothes & books. Lincoln said, ‘A person who brings a great book for me that I have not read is my best friend’ and the same is true for all other great leaders in the history. Fortune is not there in the finance section, that’s there in the library.    

3.      Observe technology fast. Switch off your mobile and unplug the idiot box/TV. Spend time in silence and loneliness. Force yourself to reflect. Asking below questions helps bringing clarity which in turn brings strength and confidence to your steps.

a.       What makes you happy? Just get your pen moving and make a laundry list as big as you can. Is it earning more money or is it taking best care of yourself by exercising & pampering your senses by going to spa or sending thank you notes or going on vacations with your family or what else? And yes, don’t tell me smoking makes you happy; that is the biggest lie. I believe all the smokers in the world want to quit this but the problem is: they have become slave to this habit. Obedient slaves; where they can sacrifice happiness of the entire family.

b.      What should I continue doing? There must be some activities which make you happy and add value to you and/or others. Identify these clearly and keep on doing more of these. Adding feedback and tuning it accordingly will make it even better.

c.       What should I stop doing? Think and spot activities which neither make you happy nor add value to you and/or others. But still, you have been doing these in past like robot. Smoking or excessive drinking will definitely be in this. Make a resolution to stop doing these with immediate effect. This saves your precious time, hard earned money and lots of energy. Invest this extra money, time and energy in the activities which make you happy and add value to you and the world. Adding value to your self will make you a better person while adding value to the world will make you a significant person.

d.      What else should I start doing? Einstein said, ‘Doing same things over and over again and expecting different results is the biggest form of insanity.’ So either stay contended with whatever the outcome may be or change something/ start doing something for the betterment of your health, wealth or happiness. Here too, you can make a list. Writing things down has a magic associated with it. It brings clarity and helps you focus like a laser beam.

We are human beings and gifted with a wonderful blessing – freedom to make choice. I know you will not only choose health over disease, wealth over poverty and happiness over sadness but also set goals and give a push to your dream of better life. Perhaps one of the best things you can learn in life is setting SMART goals (read my articles on ‘Goals’ from May 2011 Archive). Abraham Lincoln said, ‘A goal properly set is half way reached’. Hence spending time on proper goal setting can be crucial step in your success. Reading & thinking right together will help you in setting proper goals. Once you decide what you want to do? I would say, be impatient. Take action without any further delay. You can start small but maintain consistency in steps and persevere. Once you get results, re-think and review your achievement. Calibrate the goals by applying the feedback and get started again. Remember, personal development is a cycle. It’s a never ending journey in pursuit of excellence which keeps getting even lovelier as you travel.

Enjoy the way to success & happiness. Stay blessed. Keep shining.