I know because I used to believe this too.
In my experience I've learned personal development can legitimately help you create a lifestyle you love - without being complicated. But don't just take my word for it. I'll show you how in this guide.
But before we get to that let me share a story about how personal development helps you design your life in an uncomplicated way.
In my twenties, I didn't understand what personal growth was about and thought "self-help" was for other people.
In a nutshell, I took the long, slow (sometimes hard) way to living my purpose. But my journey taught me a lot and I'm breaking down everything I've learned along the way to save you time, and energy for your own growth journey.
I'm on a mission to un-complicate personal development and help you create a lifestyle you love.
What can you learn from personal development?
By the end of this blog post you'll know how to do these 5 things:
- define what you want in life
- understand why you're making a change
- manage your time better
- reduce stress
- build healthier habits
3 Ways To Create A Lifestyle You Love With Personal Development
#1 Get Clear On What You Want
The first step to creating a lifestyle you love is knowing what you desire out of life. These 4 tips always work for me when I need to figure out how to improve a certain area of my life. I think they'll work for you, too.
Four Tips To Get Clear On What You Want In Life
- understand who you are
- decide who you want to become
- get clear on the results you want
- learn from someone who achieved a similar goal as yours
Look, facing the truth about how you're life is going can feel awkward. It's normal to want to downplay or worse, ignore how things are playing out. However, its necessary to be real with yourself. One way to accomplish this is with a life-audit. Let me explain.
What Is a Life Audit?
A life audit is when you do a full assessment of your life. Its the ultimate self-reflection where you examine all categories of your lifestyle by assigning a rating to each one.
A great way to audit your life categories is by using my favorite framework called the pillars of a good life.
What Are The Pillars of a Good Life?
The pillars of a good life are five categories that when fulfilled at the highest level create an optimal lifestyle. The five pillars are:
- health
- joy
- relationships
- finances
- spirituality
Getting clear on what's important to you is exactly how you start creating your life instead of only reacting to whatever happens to you.
#2 Know Your Why
Next, you need to understand why you want achieve a certain outcome. Your "why" is so important for motivation and focus. Especially when the process gets hard (and it will). However, without a reason for going after your intentions, your effort becomes a series of random activities with inconsistent results.
You gotta know your why so you know the right direction to go.
#3 Prioritize Your Time
The third key to lifestyle design is prioritizing time. We all have the same twenty-four hours in a day. What makes all the difference is having gratitude for this precious time..and how you use time to work build a joyful life.
A great way to prioritize time this is with a list. Write out everything you think you need to do. Then go through the list again asking yourself: does this activity align with my lifestyle dream? Anything that doesn't support that goal gets crossed o and you're left with the true priority items.
Bonus Tip: Define Your Version Of Life Balance
Defining what life balance means helps you tap into practices that restore your energy. We all have different definitions of life harmony or calmness.
One of the best ways to define this balance is through a self-care routine.
5 Ways To Practice Self-Care:
- follow a nighttime routine
- get good, deep rest each night
- practice your favorite hobby weekly
- do something fun
- schedule time for connecting with your partner, family or friends
If you commit to consistently using the ways I've covered in this guide you'll create a lifestyle you love that's filled with purpose and joy.
The bottom line is this: you absolutely can live as your best, highest self if you're willing to do the work.
Conclusion
Getting honest about what you really love doing and how you desire to live life is the quickest way to take the first step. As you define your dream lifestyle you'll create clarity.
With clarity comes prioritizing what matters most, including your wellbeing. Focusing on a balanced lifestyle gives you the energy necessary for creating the life you envision for yourself.
For even more step by step tools to create a lifestyle of purpose and joy read my blog post, "10 Ways Daily Routines Are Helpful".
Xoxo,
Nicole