Sometimes we don’t know if we’re doing well in life and we’re lucky if someone lets us know. Well, no need to wonder here. Here are 9 life-affirming self development examples that will help you in your personal and professional life.
You know they always say don’t compare yourself to others. So how are you supposed to measure how you’re doing? Well here’s the secret you’re supposed to compare your present self to your future self. And you only realize that after you’ve had experience.
Ok maybe I’m not uber-mature but I’ve definitely caught myself acting differently in similar situations and it’s fascinating to see how much easier your life gets when you conquer these different personality traits. So here are the 9 self development examples you can use, and strive for to make your life a whole lot easier. I promise you, once you’ve been able to conquer these traits everything becomes way more manageable and enjoyable.
This post is all about the 9 self development examples you can reference as you measure your growth.
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9 Self Development Examples
1) Patience (The hardest self development example to conquer)
This is one of the worst and hardest things you’ll ever have to conquer in your life. But once you do, or even as you progress within this area it will drastically change your life.
Have you ever found yourself biting your tongue because of something people were saying but once they finish their thought you realize that they were saying something completely different? We get attached and become emotional about certain ideas. To the point where we feel the need to protect them and break relationships in the name of preserving this grand idea. Well, we’re not the best communicators and with technology now we’re expected to be more concise, direct, and clear but we lack the practice or tools to do so.
Being patient while you converse with others will allow you to better understand others, yourself, and the world around you.
Besides being patient in conversations, be patient when you’re completing tasks with others. Doing so will give you the upper hand in any relationship dynamic and once you achieve this level of self development you’ll find it an easier process to work with others and yourself.
2) Decisive
When I see people who know exactly what they want and ask for it (at times demand it) my jaw drops in awe. There’s no wasted energy with them and they wasted no time in shifting an idea in their minds over and over again. Because of this saved time and energy, they’ll be able to do and enjoy more of their life.
Let’s say you decide to go out during your lunch break and you have one hour to do this. Well if you spend 15 minutes figuring out where to eat, and 15 mins trying to figure out what you’ll order off the menu, then you only have 30 mins to enjoy your meal and you’re probably going to have to rush. This then leads to an upset tummy and an event that was neither enjoyable nor beneficial.
Be decisive and spend more time living your life, than thinking about it.
3) Follow through
Once you make a decision then it’s important to follow through on that decision. Don’t plan to go out with a friend and then cancel last minute. This is not fair to them or to yourself. This says I don’t respect your time or the promises I make myself.
The less you follow through the more you’re getting into the habit of giving up on yourself. Obviously, it’s important to believe in yourself because if you don’t then it’ll be nearly impossible to have hope or look forward to anything in your life. And that leads to a life of chores and little to no excitement.
We’re not robots we deserve to give ourselves opportunities to enjoy the small pleasures of life. Also, it’s thrilling to see what you’re capable of and that only happens with following through.
4) Trust
Do you trust yourself? Do you trust those around you?
Asking yourself those questions will allow you to measure how much fear there is in your life. Fear occurs when we have a lack of trust. You want to be able to have complete trust in yourself, the decisions you make, and how you live your life. Feeling safe in your skin will allow you to live up to your highest potential and others will be able to experience the best version of you.
Also when it comes to trusting others, you definitely can’t trust everyone you come across but you want to have a few. But more importantly, you want to know what trust looks like and how you decide someone is trustworthy. This will allow you to create strong partnerships and a strong belief in yourself.
5) Humor
Things will not always go as planned. In fact, the majority of the time things will go completely wrong. How do you handle those moments?
Do you berate and torture yourself or do you laugh it off? Having a sense of humor will allow you to flow through difficult situations. It’ll make experiences more enjoyable for yourself and those that are around you. At the end of the day, we are creatures on a planet, and although we have the ability to create an impact we don’t rule the world.
There are billions of us just trying to make it through the day. So don’t be too hard on yourself.
6) Adaptability
In that same vein, we can’t just laugh when things go wrong we need to adapt.
Being able to adjust allows you to save yourself, be a part of progress and have a greater awareness and understanding of life itself.
Let’s say you’re crossing the street and a car starts heading toward you. Are you going to jump out of the way or continue to cross the street? That is an extreme example but we see examples like this every day. Where people are deadset on going away for vacation but now there’s a tornado watch. Be safe and adapt.
Progress is all about changing with momentum. Without it, we would never be able to create more opportunities to change our lives. Think about electricity, plumbing, cars, and the internet. If you do not evolve and adapt to the opportunities around you, you’ll live in a survival mindset as opposed to one where you can generate greatness.
7) Articulate
It’s horrible when you’re unable to connect with others. Where you’re blamed or people think things about you that are not true. Not being able to articulate yourself halts any opportunities you may have to connect with others. You’ll find yourself trying to defend yourself because others misinterpret what you mean.
When you’re able to articulate yourself you’ll be able to defend yourself, contribute to initiatives/ideas and build stronger relationships with others. The best way to learn how to articulate yourself is to practice your listening skills. This will inform you what others think and why. See how they draw an idea forward or how they connect with you, using their words, tone, and body language.
It’s definitely an art form, but once you’re able to do this you’ll be able to conquer the world.
8) Intuition
We don’t know much about our intuition and what drives it but one thing that is certain is it always tends to work in our favor. Your intuition allows you to read a situation before you’re able to articulate it for yourself. It could influence your perspective, your actions, and your decisions.
The best way to tap into using your intuition is to listen to it more and more as time passes. Define what that looks like for you. When has your sense of intuition kicked in? What was that like? Did it lead to a good or a bad outcome? Building a relationship with your intuition is like building a relationship with your wand.
We’re magical beings, we’ve just lost touch with our capabilities. You don’t want that. You want to be a wizard.
9) Ask for help
This is another hard thing, at least for me, to conquer on your self development journey. When you ask for help you save your time and energy and utilize resources that are greater than you. Ones that will allow you to learn, develop and grow. And when you don’t ask for help, you’re robbing yourself of those opportunities.
Asking for help also allows you to build your own network of battle soldiers. Nothing can be done alone, so why even try? This also gives others the opportunity to work on their skills.
You can be great, but you’re only as great as your team. It’s all about that motto “The Dream Team”. Only then will the impact be doubled and tripled enough to affect the human population of billions. Set yourself up for success and ask for help.