How To Start Your Own Personal Growth Journey Pt. 4
by Brad Spangler
Earl Nightingale once said, “A man without a plan to follow is like a ship without a course; no place to go with disaster a probability.” The third component of your personal growth plan should in fact, include “a plan”. Remember our definition of personal growth is a lifelong and intentional process of continual improvement in the areas of your life that you value most. So what are the areas of your life that you value most? Over the course of time my growth plan has expanded to six different areas of focus. These six areas are as follows…
- Spiritual
- Family
- Health- Mental and Physical
- Career
- Financial
- Fun
It is precisely in these areas that you will begin to craft your identity-based statements. In my last article I gave the example about how I fell into a common trap that many people in vocational ministry often do. I started emphasizing what I was doing for God more than I did my own personal relationship with God. So with that in mind, creating a new identity based statement under the spiritual category could look something like this “I am becoming a more devoted follower of Jesus”.
After you craft this statement, take some time and begin to imagine what a devoted follower of Jesus would look like in your present situation. Once you have a clear picture, you can now begin to formulate a plan that will help you actually become that person. Ask yourself these four questions…
- What would a devoted follower of Jesus do daily?
- Weekly?
- Monthly?
- Quarterly?
Writing your answers down to these questions will be so helpful in giving you a clear plan of action to follow. Now, my personal recommendation is to only focus on one to three areas max each year. If you try to do too much, too quickly, it will not stick. More than likely, it will take some time to dial this plan in. Yes, it will feel like work, and in the beginning it might even feel a bit overwhelming. But I have come to realize that doing what’s hard up front will always result in making things easier later.
The first time Anna and I made a financial budget, it was hard, and it felt overwhelming. But after about three to four months we found a rhythm and it became easier for us. Now, I couldn’t imagine not having a budget. Dave Ramsey says, “Give every dollar an assignment”. In the same way, your personal growth plan will help you assign your priorities. If you are not proactive in defining and assigning your priorities, then you will ultimately succumb to other people’s priorities. So I encourage you to take those one to three areas of focus, craft an identity-statement, and then list out your daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly tasks. Next week we will conclude this personal growth series with defining your “Growth Catalyst Goals”.