When Developing Your Self, Tackle One Thing at a Time Part I

Let’s go one more step into the territory of self development being “fun”: when you (1) want to reach a goal, (2) develop some particular aspect of your inner self, or (3) want to have a good time changing something you are eager to change, pick just one thing. Choose the one area or challenge that you’re most eager to address.

Pick the juiciest one---the one you have the most energy on at the moment. If you tell yourself you “should” pick ____________, I encourage you not to pick that one. Choose with your heart and your sense of eagerness.

Now you may say, “I have five to ten things I’d like to develop in myself or in my life, so I need to choose a few to work on at one time.” Well, the good news is that there is tremendous conscious (and unconscious) carry-over from one area to another. When you are developing mastery over one aspect of your self, it will positively and automatically help you in other areas---in both related and seemingly unrelated areas.

For example, let’s say you really want to develop a better system for keeping your home office organized and tidier. Perhaps you go and get two file cabinets, hanging files and manila folders to prepare for the change you can’t wait to make. Now you’re ready to go! You tackle sorting two piles of paper, and figure out the order of files (by category, alphabetically, by dates, etc.)---whatever serves you best. You pitch, file, read quickly, throw stuff out, and grin about the progress you’re making.

Inside, you feel determined, content, and very glad. It feels wonderful to honor your self in this way---creating a useful, clean and efficient work environment.
The sense of gladness you feel morphs into a sense of pride---even joy:
“Good for me!” “I’m so glad I dove into this----finally!” “I’ve been dreading this, thinking it would be just awful and overwhelming, and now it’s not.”

It’s important to acknowledge yourself and feel that great sense of accomplishment, each step of the way. Notice, pay attention to the gladness and joy you are feeling; they fuel the fire to keep going! And what is the carry-over? Stay tuned to part II to find out.

Tackling one thing at a time helps you accomplish your self development goals and increases success in developing some aspect of yourself. Picking the “juiciest” thing first increases your motivation; energy for change then carries-over into other areas of your life.