Daily, we are offered a choice. We can either respond to life's challenges by resisting them or by embracing them. Taking on the course of personal growth and development means that we have put ourselves on the path of examining who we are today and who we choose to be tomorrow, all the while evaluating how we're doing along the way. If we are not climbing the mountain of self-improvement, then we are sliding down the hill of decay. There is no standing still.
The decision to make each day an opportunity to take on some area of personal development means we have committed ourselves to the challenge of continual and never ending improvement in some aspect of our lives. In order to support our commitment to constant growth, it can be helpful to put into place a structure to focus on what's going on in our world. Such a structure must involve a means to get feedback on what is working, what is not working and what needs to be put into place that is now missing in order to grow to the next level in any particular arena.
Some possible areas of personal development might involve working on any of the following qualities:
Being calm and centred
Not reacting
Being organized and focused
Being at peace
Having genuine humility
Choosing interpretations that support or empower you
Having greater physical energy
Working on your health and appearance
Having integrity
Exuding charisma
Showing confidence
Being an inspiration to yourself and others
Allowing yourself to be vulnerable
Showing emotion
Not showing emotion when it does not serve you
Being sensitive
Being consistent or persistent
Being coachable or teachable
Being happy
Having a good self image
Trusting your intuition
Developing empathy
Being self motivated
Able to make and keep commitments
Able to be told anything without reacting
Being a good listener
Able to make the most of any situation
Able to have fun
Coming across authentically to others
Having discipline
Willing to sacrifice for the future
Speaking from the heart
Living your vision
Supporting others
Championing others to greatness
Exuding Enthusiasm
Being Inspirational
Being vulnerable
Having Compassion
Possessing a positive attitude
Choosing to have positive expectations in life
Communicating effectively
In addition, you might choose to develop the following qualities in yourself in relation to others:
Listening for what it's like to be in the other person's situation
Listening for how to contribute to or support others
Listening for mutuality or common ground
Listening for what others have to contribute to you
Being able to bond with others
Possessing the ability to work well in partnership with others
Being happy to serve
Being willing to be of contribution
Being interested in others
Being interested in finding solutions that work for everyone
Not interrupting
Able to impact people positively
Being a team player
In order to enhance your personal power, you will need to create some structure so as to develop whatever qualities you decide to take on.
Some possible structures include:
A - Hiring a mentor to coach you in putting into place whatever is missing around those qualities you seek to develop.
B - Rating yourself on a scale from 1 to 10 after each interaction you have with another person, regarding how successful you were in implementing the quality you are working on. Look at what worked, what was missing, and what you need to put into place next time to be more effective in the area you are developing.
C - Keeping a journal detailing your daily intended result in your chosen area of development. Again, record both what worked and what was missing.
D - Asking others for feedback. You might say something like, "I am working on the quality of...becoming more charismatic, a better listener, more powerful in my communication, developing an appreciation of what it's like in the other person's world...etc...Could you give me some feedback on how I came across for you?"
Your commitment to put yourself in research around which qualities would most impact who you are in the world as well as your willingness to create a structure in supporting these commitments will do much toward increasing your personal power.
Creating A Structure To Support Your Development
1) Make a list of all of the qualities you like about yourself.
2) Make a list of all of the qualities you dislike about yourself.
3) List at least 5 qualities that you would be willing to further develop in yourself.
4) Create a structure for developing these qualities.
At the end of each day, week, and month ask yourself the following questions to quantify how you did in the areas of your personal development:
1) What did you learn about yourself and about others?
2) In what ways were you effective in your interactions with others?
3) What was missing in your interactions that if put in place would make you more effective?
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