Best Personal Development Tool Is Gratitude

If you are serious about improving yourself, what you need to know is that there are few different ways you can accomplish that. Of course, what you need to know is that it is imperative that you start somewhere. A lot of the time, people get overwhelmed by all the personal development tools that are out there. That leads to no improvement whatsoever.

A great tool for you, if you are serious about improving your personal development, is to think of the Concept of Gratitude. Gratitude is something that can be exceedingly helpful to you in your quest to better yourself, and here are four (4) ways you can put gratitude to work for you.

Step 1: Be Grateful Every Morning 

Think about what you are grateful for every morning. For most people, waking up is a chore. They wish they could sleep more often, and they do not cherish the idea of waking up and going to work. That is why you should make a real effort to get up in the morning giving thanks instead of complaining. Then, you start your day on a high note and you start helping good things to happen.

Now, it does not matter who you give thanks to. If you are religious, you may wish to thank God, but if you are not, it is as acceptable to just feel the gratitude in your heart.

Step 2: Journal Things You are Grateful For

Another way gratitude can help you is if you keep a journal about things you are thankful for. Keep the journal with you at all times so you can jot down notes if you need to. That way, whenever you are feeling down, or as if you do not have anything, you can open your gratitude journal and see all the things you like about your life. It doesn't have to be huge things you are thankful for, either. Even if you are thankful for jellybeans, that counts!

Step 3: Be Grateful for Your Family and Friends

Express your gratitude for those around you who make your life a better place. We all spend a lot of time complaining about the people who make us miserable, why not take that time and talk about people who make us happy!

Step 4: Seek for Ways to Show Gratitude

Look for ways to show your gratitude to people. You may not have much money, but you can write them a kind note. You can do them a favour, or babysit, or cook them a meal. Showing your gratefulness helps other people do the same to you. Everyone has a tough time in life, so it is a good thing when you can alleviate someone else's suffering.

Again, before you go to bed at night, think of times during the day where you were not grateful, but could have been. This teaches you how to act in the future.

Finally, as you can see now, gratitude can be a really important part of your life. Even if you start with just a little gratitude, it can grow into something that is beautiful in your life. If you want to see your life blossom, become someone who is more grateful.

Personal Development, what does It mean to You?

Personal development is a very private matter and what it means to me may not necessarily be the same thing that it means to you. However, there is one aspect of personal development that is the same for each and every one of us - the need to improve.

To be able to improve something, you first need to identify what areas in your life could do with a helping hand. The ability to identify room for improvement lies in a good knowledge of yourself.

The best way to get to know yourself better is to grab a pen and paper and make a list of what you feel your strengths and weaknesses may be. On the reverse side of the paper write down what you feel other people think your strengths and weaknesses may be.

You may find it interesting that two sides of the paper do not exactly correspond. Others may identify a strength in you that you may view as a weakness and vice versa.

Now look at the weaknesses that you identified within yourself and pick one that is not listed on the opposite side of the paper. Think about why you feel that area is a weakness while others don't. Ask yourself whether you lack self-confidence or whether you portray a different picture to the rest of the world?

This could be the first step you can take to personal development. Once you feel you have improved in that area, repeat the exercise and see whether you get the same results.

You also need to pay attention to the strengths that you listed. If you feel you have a strength that other people don't see, why are you hiding it? Remember that strengths are not automatically better than weaknesses and there may be some room for improvement so that everyone will notice a specific strong trait.

Even the strengths that correspond on both sides could always use a bit of work. Most people believe that they need to address their weaknesses in order to become a better person. Starting by building upon and bettering one or more of your strengths can provide you with the foundation you need to address other issues in your weaknesses.

If you are finding it difficult to distinguish between your strengths and weaknesses it may be beneficial to seek some professional help. A life coach or mentor is a great place to start or you could opt for more structured and traditional therapy in the form of counselling.

Professional help is not the only route you can follow and you can also turn to family or friends whom you respect and admire. They already know who you are and can help you more than you think.

Don't be afraid to ask for help along your journey of self development. It is very rare that people achieve any type of personal development or self improvement on their own and the more people you include in your journey the more likely you will be to experience growth.

What to do today

Which area of your life do you want to improve upon, write it down and start to work on it and you will love the results at the end.

Let me know what personal development mean to you. 

Top 5 Reasons Why People Work

In the post, we will discuss the Top 5 reasons why people work and see whether these are also the reasons for us working.

Reason No. 1 – People Work For Money

People need money to pay for basics, such as food, clothes and a place to live (accommodation). They also need money for the other things that make life better.  Education, a car, travel, a cell phone, a DVD player, IPod, - all cost something. A lot of people therefore look for the job that will pay them the most money.

Reason No. 2 – People Work To Gain Identity
Identity is the way we see ourselves in our minds and the way we think others see us. For many men and women, a job gives them part of their identity. They can see themselves as people who get things done. Who are responsible, and who are capable enough to be paid for the work they do.

Reason No. 3 – People Work To Feel Good About Themselves

Everyone wants to feel important in some way. Being part of a busy, fast-moving world makes some people feel important. Wanting to feel important may make them work harder and longer than others. It also causes people to work at jobs that seem special to them.

Reason No. 4 – People Work To Be Useful
By working, people feel that they are doing their share. They may work to take of themselves or their families, or they may work to help others in the community. 

Reason No. 5 – people work  to be with others
Most people like to spend time with others. They don’t like being alone for long periods. Work gives them a chance to be with and talk to people.

Do any of the above reasons apply to you? As you can see, work fulfills many important needs and even many individuals who became wealthy overnight still work.

The business and career bookshop is a shop where you can select a book on career planning that will help you to choose the right job that is best for you.

Of course, we all have days when we would rather stay in bed longer or go to the beach. No job satisfies all needs. The right job, however, can be satisfying in a very special way. That is why it is important to think carefully about your wants and needs. This will help you to know which career or job to choose and plan for.

I would appreciate your comments and if the above reasons are also your reasons for working, I will like to hear from you.

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How to Set Your Career Goals

This article will address goal setting as it specifically relates to career planning. Part of the career planning process involves setting goals. These goals, both long and short term, will be used to develop a Career Action Plan. The career action plan describes steps you will take to reach your goals. In this case the goal is usually a particular career objective. It can be a particular occupation, a rung on the career ladder, or an earnings level.

Goals may be either short or long term. Long term goals can take about three to five years to achieve, while short term goals are reachable in one to three years. Short term goals are often a stop along the way to our long term goals. 

We actually set goals regularly when we plan what we want to accomplish that day, that week, or even that month. Those are usually fairly simple goals, i.e. clean the house, finish an assignment, do laundry. You decide what you want to do and then figure out what you need to do to achieve your goal. Then you get into more complicated goals -- your plans for the future.  

One way in which we plan for the future is by setting goals. Merriam-Webster OnLine defines a goal as "the end toward which effort is directed." 

One of the most important things you will do during the career planning process is set goals. A goal is something you want to achieve; the end to the means, so to speak. In order to achieve a goal, you will need to exert some energy — generally a lot of it.

You should set both long-term and short-term goals:

Long-term goals: these are goals that you should be able to achieve in about three to five years.

Short term goals: these are goals that you should be able to reach in one to three years. 

In order for your goals to be achievable, they must meet certain criteria. Your goals must be: 

· Conceivable: you must be able to put your goal into words; 

· Achievable: you must have the attributes, energy, and time to accomplish your goal; 

·  Believable: you must believe you can reach your goal; 

· Achievable Within a Certain Time Frame: you must be able to state how long it will take you to reach your goal;

· Clearly Defined: you must know exactly what your goal is;  and 

·  Flexible: you must be willing to modify your goal as necessary. 

Once you have defined both your long-term and short-term goals, you can go on to develop a career action plan. 
The career action plan will list all your goals and the steps you must take to reach them. If your goals meet the criteria listed above, you are more likely to be successful in achieving them.

How to manage your Time

I present to you an article from my Mentor Brian Tracy, which I know will benefit you in your career planning and managing of time. Time is a precious resource that we all need to use to achieve our goals and objectives.  

The Central Skill by Brian Tracy

 Time management is the central skill of success. Your ability to manage your time, to focus and channel your energies on your highest value tasks, will determine your rewards and your level of accomplishment in life more than any other factor.

Success Leaves TracksWhen I began searching for the secrets of success many years ago, I discovered an interesting principle: success leaves tracks. A wise man who had studied success for more than 50 years concluded that the greatest success principle of all was, "learn from the experts."

Learn From the ExpertsIf you want to be a big success in any area, find out what other successful people in that area are doing, and do the same things, until you get the same results. When I studied the interviews, speeches, biographies and autobiographies of successful men and women, I found that they all had one quality in common. They were all described as being "extremely well organized." They used their time very, very well. They were highly productive and they got vastly more done in the same period of time than the average person. 

Be both Effective and Efficient
High performing men and women were both effective and efficient. They did the right things, and they did them in the right way. They were constantly looking for ways to improve the quality and quantity of their output. As a result, their contribution to their organizations was vastly higher and therefore much better paid, than the contributions of the average person.

Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action:

First, develop a study plan today to learn from the experts in your field. This can save you years of hard work. 

Second, decide “what is the most important thing to do” and then decide how to do it.

Lastly, to get the full advice on time management, do check out the book called "Eat that Frog", it will help you to plan and manage your time very well and stop you from procrastinating.