Personal Development Plan Challenges

Personal Development Plan Challenges

The 2nd vitally important step of a successful personal development plan is recognizing the challenges. You want to prepare for immediate challenges, as well as be ready to deal with other potential difficulties along the way.

Possible stumbling blocks are much easier to see and assess once you have completed the first step of identifying your unique individual development plan adventure.

Basically, now you want to know what to do, where to go, and how to handle things when you get served a lemon! We've all heard what's best to do in that case... make lemonade. And that is one of the secrets here. Always look for the lessons and opportunities in the challenges along your path. Ask 'what message is there in this situation and what can I learn'?

Joseph Campbell acknowledged this stage of reckoning as the 'Initiation' in The Hero's Journey. Trials and tribulations sear us with a bit of fire to see what mettle we're made of.

What form might the fire manifest in?

lack of knowledge in particular areas that is necessary in order to achieve our goal
lack of skills for some required tasks
apparent failures and setbacks enroute
painstakingly slow progress
foes or fierce competition in our field of interest
mental struggles; lack of confidence, negative sabotaging beliefs, fears and doubts

Many a hero has had to face these tribulations, the demons of the dark. These are the dragons of old. By looking at the above list, you can see the dragons are still breathing their fire. They are to be met head on and overcome.

Trials and tribulations encourage us to ask important questions that will assist us to best move forward with our personal development plan. Questions such as, what are:

your strongest personal traits and how can you best utilize these (there are some great online personality tests to help you assess your personality traits)
weakest personal characteristics and how can you get help in these areas
other skills that will help you and how can you gain those skills
great resources for bolstering your support, encouragement, and insight when the going gets tough
other possible approaches or routes to the same end

Personal Development Growth

When we see a potential barrier or difficulty, how do we go forward? Have you heard the saying ‘according to your faith’? That is the way it works... according to ones faith you will go forward… either a little or a lot. If you believe you can, you will; if you believe you can't, you won't.

A steadfast approach to 'looking for the silver lining' is helpful. This incorporates asking, investigating, learning more, and trusting that you will find a means below, around, over or through the difficulties! Methods to help overcome trials while pursuing your personal development plan include:

focusing, feeling and visualizing daily on your desired outcome
using your intuition, developed through meditation and quiet time
aligning your subconscious power with your conscious desires
using the help of a personal coach
sharing in a mentoring group
habitually reading personal development books and listening to audios (check out the free personal development seminar offer)

When difficulties arise, gain strength by using them as opportunities to more fully prepare you with what you need in order to continue on your path and achieve your goal.

A good analogy here is the effort required by the butterfly when emerging from the cocoon. It is work for the new butterfly to create a hole in the cocoon and then force itself through it. Apparently this action is necessary in order to enable the butterfly to fly. The pressure exerted by squeezing through the small hole forces blood into the very tips of it's wings, allowing them to subsequently spread gracefully, lift them into the air and on with their adventure.

Assessing Personal Development Plan Challenges

When writing a personal development plan, taking potential trials and dragon attacks into account prepares us to stand up confidently and persevere through tribulations. It's like leaving home with a spare tire in the boot of the car (and a jack and wrench!). We are ready to face any possible setbacks.

Proper planning strengthens our:

belief that we will ultimately arrive at the outcome of where our heart is driving us
resolve to go forward with faith and trust
development of new skills
knowledge of how to tackle new situations

With our ultimate life adventure discovered, and the potential challenges identified, we are ready for step 3, setting and achieving personal development plan goals.

Heroic PDP Planning

PDP Adventure | PDP Challenges | PDP Goals | PDP Success | PDP Mastery

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