Mindful Self-Development: How to be both successful AND happy
It’s natural for us to want to progress in life, whether that’s with our career, our family, our own sense of self, or all of the above. But it’s easy in this modern world to push ourselves too far and ignore the signs that we’re getting burnt out.
Here are some tips to help you navigate self-development mindfully, so you’re able to be successful with your life goals while protecting your health and happiness.
“Life is short.” “Don’t waste time.” “Life is not a rehearsal.” Have you heard these phrases before? They have the power to inspire you or terrify you depending on your outlook. If you’re anything like me, you’re always looking for ways to move forward in life: to learn something new, expand your horizons, and earn a bit more money. This desire for something bigger and better is encouraged within us from an early age and now, in the era of social media, we’re feeling pressure from everywhere to constantly “improve” ourselves.
It is important for us to learn and grow as human beings, but that doesn’t mean we have to be in competition with each other, take on activities we don’t want to do, or do everything all at once. Self-development is a personal journey. We’re allowed to take our time with it, decide what it is we really want and make small steps while paying close attention to our physical and mental wellbeing.
This is where mindful self-development comes in; the practice of working towards realistic goals while regularly considering your emotional, physical, financial and time capabilities.
Keep reading to learn some tips to help you get started with mindful self-development…
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1. Set realistic goals
Take into account your financial situation, emotional wellbeing, and available time when setting your goals. Ensure they are attainable and practical when working alongside your current circumstances.
For example, if you’re a parent who works full time and needs to take care of the kids in the evening, don’t take on a course where you’ll need to study for hours and hours every week as your resulting lack of energy will only damage your work performance and make you less present with your family. Break down larger goals into smaller, actionable steps to make your progress more manageable.
2. Assess your finances
Take an honest look at your finances to understand where you currently are and what you could potentially afford. It's important to strike a balance between investing in personal growth and maintaining financial stability. Having said that, depending on your goals, there are plenty of ways to expand your horizons without needing to enrol in an expensive course. Do you know someone who is knowledgeable about the area you’d like to branch into or is there a local group who meet up to discuss the topic?
You could also look in libraries, search online platforms, and visit community centres that could provide access to low-cost books, courses, workshops, and support groups. Maybe your goals are more to do with self-care, in which case you could focus on free activities like meditation, nature walks or yoga videos on YouTube.
3. Prioritise self-care. Always.
Speaking of self-care, your emotional and physical wellbeing is crucial for self-development. Make self-care a priority by including activities in your schedule that support your mental and emotional health, like mindfulness practices, regular exercise, spending time in nature, hobbies such as reading or painting.
If you’re struggling with mental health, put your other goals aside for now and simply focus on what you can do in this moment to begin to heal, and remember to seek support from a therapist if you can.
Forming self-care activities into a regular habit can improve our mood and lower our stress levels, key elements when it comes to living a happier and healthier life. Stress can be damaging to our mind and body, not just in the moment we feel it but the effects can linger for long afterwards and even make us ill. This is why it’s so important to build up a toolkit of activities we enjoy to counter the stress in our life and help ourselves to be more resilient to the pressures around us.
Why not grab your FREE Stress Less Toolkit below to find out more?
4. Manage your time effectively
Time management is key to incorporating self-development practices into your daily routine. Carve out dedicated time for personal growth activities, such as reading books, attending workshops or classes, or engaging in reflective practices like journaling or meditation.
Don’t forget to also identify time-wasting activities or distractions that can be minimised to create more space for personal development. If scrolling on social media doesn’t help you take further steps towards your goal and doesn’t make you feel good, then do all you can to break the habit!
Try this: Switch your phone display to greyscale (a quick Google search will give you easy steps to do this) and turn off all non-urgent notifications. You’ll be amazed at how these simple steps can help create some more distance between you and your smartphone, allowing you more space to be fully present in your life.
5. Embrace small steps
Remember that self-development is a journey, and progress is often made through small, consistent steps. Avoid overwhelming yourself with too many changes at once. Focus on one or two areas at a time, gradually build upon them, and make sure you celebrate the small wins along the way to stay motivated.
Want to do or try something new? Maybe you want to take a course to advance your career, learn to play the guitar for your own enjoyment, or just get back in contact with an old friend. You can start taking baby steps towards these things right now, but make sure you only add one active goal at a time after making sure you have the practical and emotional space to take on each new goal. You don’t have to do everything all at once.
You could start with this simple exercise: Make a list of your life goals and rank them. When you have the space emotionally, the time available, and the finances, choose number one and see if it’s realistic without compromising your current state of wellbeing. If that one doesn’t seem to work for you then move to number 2 and so on. Work your way through the list gradually, adjusting or getting rid of goals as you go depending on how your circumstances and interests change.
6. Practise gratitude
Regular gratitude and contentment practices can have a hugely positive impact on your emotional wellbeing. They can help you to recognise and appreciate what you already have while working towards your goals. This mindset shift can not only protect your mental health while you’re on your self-development journey, but can also increase happiness levels overall and help you to view your life in a more positive light.
You can try it now by finishing the sentence, “Today, I am grateful for…”
7. Reflect and adapt
Regularly reflect on your progress and look over your goals to make sure they still align with your ever-changing financial, emotional, and time capabilities. Life happens, circumstances change and we need to be prepared to adjust our approach to best serve us. Be flexible and compassionate with yourself, understanding that self-development is an ongoing process and there’s no right or wrong way to do it.
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The takeaway message…
Remember, everyone's journey is unique, so it's important to honour your own pace and progress. Nothing is set in stone and the most important thing is to stay mindful about your self-development efforts to help you cultivate a more balanced and fulfilling path of personal growth. Good luck!
Working with a Nutrition & Lifestyle Coach can boost your chance of forming healthy habits that are the most natural and sustainable for your unique self.
Why not book a taster session with me today to walk away with your 5-point action plan for health and happiness and see what coaching could do for you?
See you next time!
Jo x
If you’d like some more ideas of how to look after yourself with more care, patience and positivity, download the completely FREE Stress Less Toolkit below.
Feeling stress from work? Check out this related post:
7 PRODUCTIVITY AND TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS TO AVOID FEELING OVERWHELMED
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Next steps…
These are only some of the possibilities when it comes to improving your health and lifestyle. Find out which activities would be right for you by working with a Nutrition and Lifestyle Coach.