The Success of Personal Development is in the Journey

When we are on a course of personal development, the real success comes from consistency throughout the journey.

SUCCESS IS IN THE PROCESS

Recently, I was listening to a podcast where the host was interviewing John Maxwell, pastor, author and personal growth and leadership guru.  John talked about how success was not in the final destination like we so often believe it to be. Real success he said, is in the process of achieving something.

John gave the example of how when a student graduates from college, her family will hug her and congratulate her and tell her what a success she is for graduating college. But, he said, the real success was making the decision to go to college in the first place. The real success was making the decision to get up and go to class every morning. The real success was all of the hours spent studying. The real success was every homework assignment turned in and every test taken. The real success…you get the point.

His story reminds me of the saying – life is not about the destination, but about the journey.  Without the journey, we would never reach the destination after all.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT IS THE ULTIMATE JOURNEY

When we are talking about personal development, is there really a destination?  Is there a certain point that we reach in our lives where we say, “I’m as good as I’ll ever be in all areas of my life!  I have grown in all areas of my life as much as I think I ever will, so I’ll stop trying to be better than I was yesterday.”  No, of course we wouldn’t say that. Or anyway, I hope we wouldn’t.

Personal development is, therefore, really all about the journey.  It’s all about suiting up and showing up for ourselves day in and day out.

Will every day be rainbows? No, of course not. Some days will be hard and downright painful. Some days we will wake up and say, “I just don’t want to do it today.” But then we’ll do it anyway. Some days we will take a step forward, and some days it will feel like we’re taking two steps back. But we keep on keeping on because we know this journey is the only one that will get us to where we want to be. The real success comes from waking up each day and deciding to be the best versions of ourselves, despite whatever setbacks we are facing.

GROWTH IS UNCOMFORTABLE

Growth is never easy, and it is rarely comfortable.  There’s a reason why we call it “growing pains” when a child’s body feels uncomfortable as he or she is growing taller.  It freaking hurts.

But my God, what beauty can come from growth!  What beauty can come from getting uncomfortable, doing the work, and trying to be better than you were yesterday or last month or last year.

Think about the caterpillar.  You think he wants to do the work to build a cocoon?  You think he wants to be uncomfortable in that thing?  I can’t pretend to know what a caterpillar thinks, but I can only imagine that somewhere in the evolutionary process caterpillars have made peace with the fact that they are going to go through a huge transition period.  And thank God they do, because what would the world be without butterflies?  What would the world be without you or me being the best versions of ourselves? 

Better yet, what could we contribute to the world if we invested in ourselves and in our growth?  What kind of impact could we make?

I know that for me, I want to leave a positive impact on this world, even if that’s just my family, my friends, and my tiny little corner of the internet here.  But how can I positively impact the world if I don’t, say, deal with my anger issues so that I can be a positive person?  Or how can I share all the ways I’ve learned to have a healthy relationship if I don’t actually do the work to have a healthy relationship? Or how can I tell you all that I’ve broken free from emotional eating if I don’t actually do the work to overcome emotional eating?

We’ve got to do the work. 

STAYING CENTERED IN OUR PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT JOURNEY

Here are some things that have helped me stay centered in personal development:

1. Making a Gratitude List: I try to start each and every day by writing three to five things I’m grateful for. With my gratitude list, I try to be specific. I avoid naming the same thing every day, even though coffee really does deserve to be number one on each and every gratitude list that I write (amirite?!). By practicing gratitude, I am able to be thoughtful about the blessings in my life as well as to celebrate my accomplishments, no matter how small.
2. Journaling: When I journal, it’s not always an epically long entry but typically a short synopsis of my previous day or a goal that I have for the day ahead. What this exercise does for me is makes me be aware of myself, my thoughts and my actions. It helps me see what I am doing right, helps me check in with my goals, and pushes me to address anything that is stopping me from being my best self.
3. Setting goals: I have been more and more intentional about this practice this year. When I set goals, and especially when I write those goals down, and I much more likely to achieve them. Goals that I typically try to set are often centered around my health, my finances, my work, and my relationships, but they are not always limited to those areas.
4. Reading nonfiction books: What better way to learn about personal development than from authors who have studied and researched different personal development topics? I have been reading 10 pages of a nonfiction book each day, a relatively new practice for me, and it has blown my mind what it has done for me. To be able to take the things I have read and implement them into my life has helped me grow tremendously.
5. Listening to podcasts on personal development: Podcasts are great because you can listen to them pretty much anywhere and hear amazing speakers share on different topics of personal development. I listen to podcasts while I’m driving, working out at the gym, or taking solo walks. I’ve even put my headphones in while cleaning the house and listened to podcasts, which has made house cleaning feel so much less tedious.
6. Surrounding myself with people who also want to live their best lives: There’s a famous quote by Jim Rohn in which he says, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” Have you looked around at your circle lately? Is your circle made up of people who want to be better people? People who strive to be healthy, balanced, good human beings? People who believe in pursuing their dreams and will cheer you on as you pursue yours? People who invest in their health? People who manage their finances well? If your circle is not filled with people who meet some of these criteria, it may be worth changing your circle.

What do you do to help yourself grow? What keeps you on the path of personal development?

KEEP PUTTING ONE FOOT IN FRONT OF THE OTHER

No matter where you are in your personal development story, I promise there will be good days and there will be bad days. There will be days when you feel like you have it all together, and other days where you wonder what the hell is actually going on. No matter what, keep putting one foot in front of the other, and remember that your success lies in your journey.

Until next time,

Jeri Walden

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