The Path to Personal Growth is Paved With Meticulous Planning

The key to self-improvement is a clearly organized set of goals, says psychologist Joe Wilner at PsychCentral. As Wilner begins drafting his resolutions for 2015, he intends to prioritize four key categories: social, physical, mental, and spiritual. His focus is less on charting concrete milestones and more on mapping a sustained path toward personal growth:

“It’s not necessarily about achievements or accomplishment but is about character development and growing into a more whole and happy person.”

As you begin drafting your own goals for the coming year think about how you can think within the four above categories to pursue a better self. For example, here’s how Wilner explains the social component:

“Social: Set a relationship goal. This includes assessing the people you spend the most time with. How do the peers you associate with influence your growth and well-being? We become like the people we surround ourselves with, so make this a deliberate decision.”

Of course, which of the four categories is most important varies depending on the person. You can prioritize some groups over the others but Wilner insists that setting a goal for each is key to achieving the best version of you. It’s also important not to let your goals become too overwhelming, which is why Wilner suggests setting them within time tiers: one year goals, three month goals, one month goals, and tomorrow goals. 

For more on setting goals for self-improvement, read more at PsychCentral

Photo credit: Ivan Kruk / Shutterstock