How to Develop Your Personal Development Plan Strategy

Hi, and welcome to the Leadership Done Right YouTube channel! In this video, we are going to answer the question, “How can YOU develop the strategy for your personal development plan?”

As mentioned in the last video, whether you are trying to obtain your ideal life, become a highly successful leader, pick up a new skill, develop a new hobby, or improve in some other way, it is very important that you have a personal development plan.

Develop Your Personal Development Plan Strategy

So let’s talk about how you can develop a strategy for your personal development plan. Before anything else, it’s important to understand that your personal development plan is an active living, breathing, and changing plan. It can and should change from year to year. Once this is understood, consider the following.

When you develop your strategy, identify what you want out of life. What does your ideal life look like? What short, medium, and long-term goals will help you obtain your ideal life? By thinking about these questions, you can create a personal development plan that helps you get from where you are NOW, to where you want to be.

Areas of Focus

So let’s dig in a little deeper… Here are four areas to focus on when creating your personal development plan strategy.

1. Overall Health

First, let’s look at your overall health. You may be thinking, “Well, I’m a pretty healthy person, why do I need to think about my health?” Well, your overall health can be broken into the following six categories:

1. First is your Mental Health – Mental health is how we think, feel and act as we cope with life. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others and make choices. Like physical health, mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood.
2. Second is Physical Health – Physical health can be defined as a state of well-being when all internal and external body parts, organs, tissues and cells can function properly as they are supposed to function.
3. Third is Emotional Health – Good emotional health is feeling good about yourself and those around you. It is having the ability to handle emotions like anger, stress, depression, etc. in healthy ways.
4. Fourth is Social Health – Social health refers to that dimension of an individual’s well-being that concerns how he/she gets along with others, how other people react to him/her, and how he/she interacts with social institutions and societal morals.
5. Fifth is Spiritual Health – Spiritual health consists of coming to peace with one’s self and discovering a sense of purpose. Sometimes spiritual wellness is accompanied by the realization that all humanity is somehow interrelated and that true happiness involves more than the acquisition of material goods.
6. And sixth, is Financial Health – Financial health is the state of one’s personal financial situation. It includes the amount of one’s savings (short term, long term, and retirement), income, and spending habits (fixed and discretionary).

By looking at each aspect of your health, you can tailor your personal development plan to get the most out of life. Look at each area of your health and identify steps you can take to reach your ideal health.

For example, say you are a little overweight and out of shape. It’d probably be a good idea to include points in your personal development plan to help you reach your ideal healthy weight and get back into better physical shape.

Another example: If you always feel like you are out of money because you’re spending your last penny every month, include points in your personal development plan to address your financial health. Take a money management or personal finance course, work on setting aside money, and do what you can to increase your income.

2. Lifetime Dreams, Goals, and Objectives

Now, have you ever seen a hamster get on the spinning wheel in their cage and run without stopping? They continue to run but don’t go anywhere. We don’t want that to be us.

Instead, the second area of focus is to determine your lifetime dreams, goals, and objectives. This can include acquisition of specific skills, accomplishments, a state of overall health, and the ideal day-to-day life.

Think about your envisioned future. Then think about why you want that ideal future. Your “why” must to be a strong driving force. Your strong “why” will enable and empower you as you strive to reach your lifetime dreams, goals, and objectives.

But, one word of caution, the resistance will come. And if your “why” is not strong enough, it won’t keep you moving forward in the face of tough resistance. Like Michael Hyatt says, “When you lose your ‘why’ you lose your way.”

Whether you have a strong why or you feel your why could use a little strengthening, make it an everyday part of your life. Build affirmation statements that strengthen your “why”. As you do that, your desire and strength to reach your  dreams, goals, and objectives will be increased.

By focusing on your dreams, goals, and objectives, you will NOT become the hamster in the wheel where you constantly spin your wheels but don’t go anywhere.

3. Details of Your Plan

The third point is to focus on the details of your plan. Ask the question, “What should my plan include?” Well, if you imagine an ideal life where you are financially independent, live in a specific area, and do specific daily activities, but you are not on a clear path to get there then you must make changes in your life. That is where the personal development plan is very important. The personal development plan fills the gaps.

Here are some questions you can ask to help fill in the details of your plan:

• What are the big gaps between where you are now and where you want to be?
• Do you lack knowledge or experience you need to obtain that ideal life?
• Are you struggling with your finances to reach financial freedom? Why are you struggling? Is it because you haven’t developed habits of saving money? OR, is it because you are saving all you can by trimming the waste and other discretionary income but there just isn’t enough coming in? OR, are you lacking knowledge of what it means to have financial freedom?
• Do you need to move to live in a specific location? If so, what is holding you back from moving there now? Are there steps you can take now to overcome those obstacles?
• When you look at your ideal life, what would your daily activities be? What is holding you back from doing those things and what would it take to make a change now?

As you ask and answer these questions, you will get a clear picture of what you desire out of life. You will also gain a better understanding of the steps you must take to get there.

Once you gain that clarity, write down what you learned and the areas you need to improve so you can gain your ideal life. Include this in your personal development plan so you can begin making progress.

4. Education and Other Training Required

Fourth, consider what education and other training will be required as you work on your personal development plan. Ask the question, “What education do I want or need to obtain my ideal life?” There are many ways you can become educated.

You can choose a particular topic of study like leadership attributes, practical leadership, management, or some other topic. Since we are talking about developing your ideal life, your education can go beyond the leadership realm to include the acquisition of hobbies or other talents, learning new skills, or improving your personal well-being.

Additionally, education can be obtained in a number of ways. Education is available online or in-person. On the web there are educational websites, online colleges and universities, adult-ed classes, web-based tutorials, YouTube videos and many other sources of learning.

If you like the in-person setting, seek out your local community college, find a study partner, join a local hobby group, or take other steps to learn from sources available in your community.

If neither of these options is available, there are many self-help books and other materials available to help you learn what you want to learn.

What’s most important is that you find the learning environment and material that works best for you.

Review And Rewrite The Plan As Needed

Once you’ve reviewed the points mentioned above, it is time to write your plan. Start by identifying the personal knowledge and skill gaps, and other areas mentioned earlier that you would like to improve. Specifically look at what is keeping you from reaching your ideal life and focus your efforts on those items. Your plan will help you learn and grow, so you can make your ideal life a reality.

Once your plan is written, review and rewrite your personal development plan as needed until you are satisfied with it. As mentioned at the beginning of this video, your personal development plan is an active living, breathing, and changing plan. It can and should be adapted based on your stage in life and your current goals and objectives. Don’t feel like the plan has to be perfect the first time you put it together, rather, begin your progress so you are on the right path.

Let’s Recap

Now lets recap! The four areas to focus on when creating your personal development strategy are:

1. Your Overall Health
2. Lifetime Dreams, Goals, and Objectives
3. Details of Your Plan
4. Education and Other Training Required

Once you have reviewed these points, it is time to write your personal development plan. By following these steps and working hard, you create the best possible scenario for you to accomplish your goals and dreams as outlined in your personal development plan.

Conclusion

In conclusion, my hope is that you can put these steps into action in your life. Let me know what you think of the steps and how they are working for you.

Thanks for watching this video. If you enjoyed it and would like to watch more great videos just like it, please subscribe to the Leadership Done Right YouTube Channel and check out LeadershipDoneRight.com. Also, please like the video and share it with others! Well, until next time, go and be the best leader you can be!

Get Your Free Copy Of My eBook

Name:

Email: