Alex Shalman . comPractical Personal Development

What are you currently not doing that you would like to start or be proficient at? Would you learn another language? Would you master the arts or learn to play an instrument? Would you improve your relationship with family and friends? Would you take on a new diet or exercise regime? What personal development interests do you have?

Once you have identified what you would like to create in your life forge your commitment by writing it down. Visualize the person that you would be if you had already achieved your goal. Don’t wait, start your journey immediately.

Initialize the process by writing your goal in your journal, task-list, vision board or anywhere that you consider special and make a vow to see it through to the end. Write down exactly what it is that you want to accomplish. The level of detail that is required here should be vivid enough so that a random person reading your goal would be able to achieve the affect you desire. Also, make sure you set a due date for when you plan to have your goal achieved. Examples include:

• Lose 20 lbs by June 1^st.
• Invest 5,000 in a CD account by August 31^st.
• Be able to run 5 miles without stopping by March 15^th.
• Cook a romantic dinner for spouse once a week all year.
• Play tennis with partner each Wednesday this spring.

When I decided to make this website in the beginning of November, 2006 I had no idea how I would approach it. What I did was write down exactly how I wanted it to look, the main features I wanted it to contain and most importantly the due date for its release, December 15, 2006. Having it written and clear allowed me to begin the next step of this success process, visualization.

Arnold Schwarzenegger needs no introduction as his bodybuilding and box office success is very much general knowledge. He is a great example of attaining what one sets ones mind to achieve. According to Arnold, “what you do is create a vision of who you want to be, and then live into that picture as if it were already true.” That’s it. If you know about the theory of Ockham’s razor you also know that the simplest solution is usually the best solution.

Sitting down in front of my computer I remember closing my eyes and picturing how I would apply my personal development knowledge to better serve my audience. I vividly pictured myself typing furiously; I imagined reviewing e-mails from satisfied readers with stories of how my articles have brought great value to their lives; I created emotions for myself of how genuinely happy I will be sharing my ongoing personal development experiences and my commitment to constant and never ending improvement with the world. Most importantly I visualized the person that I would be when I had my personal development blog as an outlet to reach millions of people.

Now that you’ve written down your goal and visualized yourself as the person you would be if your goals were accomplished you come to the starting line. This step just happens to be the hardest part. Lao Tzu said that “a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”. If you give something that seems hard too much thought you will most likely talk yourself out of it. Simply take the first step, go for that run, throw away that junk food, give that family member a hug, read that book, pick up that brush or that instrument and apply it. The hard part is done, now you just have to keep at it and let momentum take its course.

In my case, now that the website is set up and I have started posting, the momentum pushes me to keep writing. At this point I would actually have to think of a few very good reasons as to why I should stop, because otherwise I could not. As my experiences grow so do my ideas for what to write about that may be of legitimate value to you.

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