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Pursue Your Potential Mag

Deciding that you want to improve yourself is the first, very laudable step on the path to personal development. Here are some tips and ideas to get started on working out your own personal development strategies.

You will miss many opportunities to develop personally if you put off making decisions. Make decisions based on your own knowledge and what you can learn from your research. Do not rely entirely on your instinct. Even when you make a bad decision, you can learn valuable lessons from your experience. A bad choice will just open up the door for a better one.

There are plenty of great books on personal development available. These books have changed many people's lives, and they could do the same for you. Pay attention to reviews when you pick a self-help book. The genre has some poorly-written books in it; however, you want one that has proven useful to other readers.

Write a pep talk to yourself. Make a list of all the good things about you, and put it on a postcard. Take it with you everywhere you go, and go over each quality when you feel the need. An even more effective solution would be to read the list out and have it recorded on video; playing it back when you are feeling low. Sounds intriguing, right?

Start giving other people compliments. Try to replace any negative comments with positive ones, and see if this helps you become more positive as an individual.

Have a rainy day fund. Too often, unexpected expenses are put on credit cards, which only adds interest to the debt and increases your burden. If you put back just a few dollars every week you will quickly build up an emergency fund. Having an emergency fund in place can help provide a safety net throughout all the phases of one's financial life.

For individuals with more severe problems, the ideal solution may be therapy. Books can be very helpful to help you understand your problems, but they tend to lack the insight and knowledge which a therapist can give you. Sometimes, success happens by simply talking problems through. A psychiatrist can have a discussion with you, where a book cannot.

You should always treat others with respect, regardless of their relationship to you or your goals. The way you treat them says more about you than it does about them.

Are you a heavy drinker? Do you smoke cigarettes or do anything else that is harmful to your body? Our body is a temple, and therefore it should be treated like one. If you are serious about improving your life, it is important to eliminate the habits which cause your body harm. Take stock of how you are living your life and the habits you have accumulated. Which ones do you think you could get rid of right now?

Do not shop for comfort. If you devote all your time and money to the pursuit of shopping as a hobby, you are almost certain to end up broke amid a heap of credit card statements. Find a more engaging activity, and save yourself the stress and debt.

Determine which aspects of your life you truly value, and concentrate solely on those.