Template for personal development plan

A personal development plan is a very personal guide toward where you want to be in life. Your personal development plan plays a critical role in your individual growth.

Do you have one?

If not, then this article will serve as a personal development plan template. You can create your plan by following the steps outlined below.

No two personal development plans are the same, but any good plan is based on important underlying themes.

With personal development plans, clarity is the key. As you move through the various elements, focus only on the question in front of you. Don’t allow worries, obstacles and doubt to cloud your thoughts. You’ll get to those.

I. Choose Just One Area of Focus for your Personal Development Plan

For example:

Family: Relationships with spouse or partners, kids, parents, siblings, etc…).

Professional: Professional goals.

Personal: Fitness, hobbies, personal dreams and accomplishments.

Emotional: Fear and anxieties, moods and discipline.

Spiritual: Relationship with God, the Universe, humanity, something larger in scope than your individuality.

Other area: (you decide)

There are personal development plans that ask you to work on multiple areas of your life simultaneously. Big mistake! Overwhelm is right around the corner…

II. Identify Criteria for Maximum Happiness in your Area of Focus

This is a critical point in your personal development plan. If you don’t get your criteria for happiness right, your entire plan will be skewed and ineffective. If your plan does not lead you toward satisfaction of your criteria, then there is no way to be happy by accomplishing it.

What are criteria? Criteria are values – standards that define deep personal preferences and moral obligations. To discover your criteria, ask yourself, “What is important to me in…..?

If your area of focus is your career, then ask yourself what is important in a career. You are looking for keywords that hit home for you. In a career, what satisfies you? Is it independence, money, service, technology, status, freedom, security, predictability, camaraderie, professionalism, contribution…?

What are the 4-5 key criteria that, when met, will make your career 100% satisfying? Think back on aspects of your career or former jobs that were satisfying. What about them made it so? Imagine being in an ideal career. Go through an imaginary day. What about it makes it satisfying to you.

Keywords! Write them down. If, at this point, you aren’t sure, then halt the process and get some guidance before continuing. Criteria are that important.