Personal Planning / Learning Lessons

"The most important things to know in life take a lifetime to learn. Our first lessons come early -- but we grasp only the surface. As we gain life experience we gain deeper understanding. All great truths are both simple and complex, easy to understand yet difficult to master. " - Mark Ford

What are you learning today? 

Opportunities lie all about us for learning each moment of every day. Knowledge is recognizing them and Wisdom is learning from them. 

Whether it's building a stronger body, a healthier one, mastering the art of fishing, painting, writing, or communicating, it all takes time. In today's society, where many things that use to take hours, days, weeks, and even months to come to fruition... much is completed within minutes, with a few clicks of a mouse, and so forth.

What needs to be realized is this, the things that matter most are the things that need day after day nurturing, awareness, observation, experimentation, patience, and perseverance. It takes years of managing emotions, reactions, and gaining an awareness of where you started and the markers of growth you've made along the way.

Personally, I recommend people either make and record these observations on their birthday each year, or at the start of each new year. For example, write down five areas you want to monitor your progress in, say: Health, fitness, communication, building a quality relationship, and a learning endeavor, such as learning a new language or something similar. 

Next, write down an ACTION you can take for each of these areas, for each of the 12 months. Next, a week before the new month commences, break down your monthly goal into one thing you can do towards it your monthly goal each week. For the really ambitious: Break those weekly goals into what you can DO each day to accomplish your desired outcome.

Do this year after year, and you cannot help but progress. The key here is determining the specific five areas that are most meaningful to you at the start. Be sure to put the time, energy, and thought into what areas mean the most to you.

Now you have a plan! You know when you go to the grocery store when you're hungry, and without a list, you end up buying all kinds of things you wouldn't have, and waste time walking up and down every aisle looking for food.

When you bring a specific list of items you can breeze in, go directly to find them, and be done shopping.

Same plan works for life. Create your list. Break it down into manageable actions to be taken. Look at your progress each year and you will be astounded at the lessons you've learned along the way, as well as, the abundance of personal growth!!!!

Happy planning!!!!