In this article:
It is human to feel stuck at times in particular situations we’re experiencing. Sometimes we’re trapped in old habits that have become routine, no longer serve us and simply deplete our time and energy. They certainly don’t allow us to reach our full potential.
There is a danger that we never break free from the habits that constrain us, particularly as we might be oblivious to the fact these habits exist. If we don’t become self-aware, we cannot free ourselves and move forwards. However, if we become self-aware, we can take our lives into our hands and start deciding which direction to take. We can escape from our monotonous routine and reach our dream destination, where we can fully express our potential and become our best selves.
As an art, the process of becoming who we really want to be requires patience, concentration, and trust in our long-term goals.
The journey for personal growth is an exciting opportunity for you to align with your real desires, cut the noise of external pressure, discover your strengths, talents, and gifts and tune in to your true values to achieve a fulfilling personal and professional life.
The good news is that there is no exact time to embark on a self-improvement journey.
As the proverb states:
“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now”.
.jpg)
Self-improvement is a conscious action that enables a person to grow. It allows people to develop their innate character strengths, talents and skills. It enables people to address any over or under-played strengths, which show up in their lives as deficits or weaknesses.
All people living on earth are individuals. Therefore, their self-evaluation may differ. Some believe that they are perfect people who do not need to do anything to change their personal potential. Others, on the contrary, aspire to knowledge and believe they have done very little to achieve a certain perfection and aspire to reach their best selves. The latter clearly aims to actively cultivate a growth and positive mindset.
Self-improvement is a process that can be activated if the person is willing to evolve in a new dimension, thus cultivating their growth mindset with a consistent dose of self-awareness.
A growth mindset and self-awareness are prerequisites for a fulfilling life.
Both can be cultivated and improved with coaching, and external help consisting of a series of powerful questions to challenge your thoughts, feelings, and actions to break old patterns and create new atomic habits for personal and professional success.
Self-improvement or personal development is a realm that is deeply analyzed and investigated by Positive Psychology, a branch of Psychology in opposition to the traditional one.
Conventionally therapeutic psychology takes people from -10, barely surviving, to 0 just about surviving. Whereas Positive psychology brings you to +10 thriving. Martin Seligman, an American psychologist, and writer is considered the founder and father of Positive Psychology.
Now, we will look in detail at the theory of well-being, also known as the Perma Model.
“PERMA” is an acronym that stands for Positive Emotions, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment, which represents the five pillars that human beings need to nurture and improve, to reach the level of a successful and fulfilling life.
The PERMA Model is, essentially, a theory of unforced choice. It is a description of what people freely choose to increase their well-being. This model brings together the basics and indicators of well-being to be able to feel good, be positive, and maintain this attitude and feeling for as long as possible throughout life.
PERMA is an acronym that encapsulates the 5 main factors on which this theory is based. Thus, developing and improving each of them will be of great help in increasing new levels of satisfaction and motivation.
Each element of the PERMA model must meet certain properties to be considered part of the theory:
1. It must contribute to welfare.
2. People must choose it for its own sake and not just as a method to achieve any of the other variables.
3. It must be defined and measured independently of the other variables in the model.
Positive Emotions represent the first pillar elaborated by Seligman’s Formula.
This point is to amplify positive emotions, not to mask negative ones, but to use the former as a tool to overcome the latter.
Positive emotions enable us to feel life satisfaction and remain optimistic in spite of adverse circumstances. Some examples may be love, joy, gratitude, pride and hope.
It is a covenant we have to make with ourselves, with our potential and strengths. The goal is to achieve balance and enter a state of flow, or optimal activation.
We usually reach the state of flow, or flow, when we are focused on an activity and experience a kind of "stopping time." It is, therefore, a matter of engaging in seeking activities that immerse us in this state.
As social beings, relationships are irreplaceable sources of well-being and satisfaction because they offer support and protection.
Establishing satisfying relationships is necessary for proper personal growth. Therefore, we must attend to relationships with family, friends, colleagues, etc.
Within this factor of improving social relationships, we must also include improving our social skills and tools.
This factor refers to the search for belonging to something greater than ourselves. It entails the idea that the meaning in our lives goes beyond the concept of ourselves. In this way, for every goal achieved, for every aim attained, there underlies a relevant meaning that pervades it with transcendental significance. We all need to make sense of our lives in order to achieve a sense of well-being.
Success and a sense of accomplishment involve setting goals, which when achieved will serve to make us feel competent, promoting our autonomy. It refers to the achievement of goals in relation to improving our abilities.
“A goal without a plan is just a wish”
To set a possible future self that we want to achieve personally and professionally, a clear plan is key to long-lasting success.
Generally, the drafting of a development plan involves all professionals who aspire to development related to their role. The development of individuals is holistic and we can set plans to accelerate our personal and professional development with different tools in the market.
In a plan, an individual can set and explore strengths and areas for improvement.
A development plan is designed to
The personal development plan can match with a leadership development plan, a customized goal-setting tool so that personal growth can coincide with the achievement of a personal or professional goal or the desire to develop specific soft skills.
In order to ensure the effectiveness of the plan, this must be outlined clearly and objectively. For this reason, in addition to qualitative indicators, quantitative ones are indispensable. In 2023, there are digital goal-setting tools that allow you to set and track your progress on your development journey.
The great solution, once you have chosen the best digital coaching tool for your needs, is to select the development goals that you desire to improve with a 90-day deadline, distinguished by characteristics of specificity, measurability, attainability, reality, and temporality.
Individual development plans, to be fruitful, must be part of a broader ongoing project.
Rocky.ai offers individuals the opportunity to select a future vision, conduct self-assessments to give you a picture of your current status, and let you begin a plan for a broader project.
After this, a development plan which aligns with your goals will be created, and you will be offered an array of programs to develop the soft skills that will help you reach your goals.
The mobile app Rocky.ai works as a personal development school that is always available in your pocket and that entwines positive psychology with solution-focused coaching for personal and professional development.
The app will help you develop your soft skills and enhance your Positive Emotions, Engagement, Relationships, Sense of Meaning, and Accomplishment ( PERMA- the formula for Optimal Human Functioning) for a greater sense of fulfillment and successful life.
Rocky listens and interjects questions to guide you in achieving your best self.
Reflect on your day and strengthen your mindset to effortlessly reach your goals.
In your daily reflection, your contribution can either be inspired by Rocky or you can share directly your thoughts.
Rocky keeps you motivated whilst you grow.
Rocky helps you track your progress and set follow-up tasks, which holds you to account in an encouraging, fun and uplifting way.
Rocky rewards you at the end of each session with bite-sized learning pills, taken from hundreds of books.
This specific content is tailored to your unique growth path and will refine your soft skills, boost your wellbeing and leverage your personal and professional success.
Rocky rewards you at the end of each session with bite-sized learning pills, taken from hundreds of books.
This specific content is tailored to your unique growth path and will refine your soft skills, boost your wellbeing and leverage your personal and professional success.
.svg)
