{"id":14693,"date":"2013-07-11T22:06:56","date_gmt":"2013-07-12T06:06:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/?p=14693"},"modified":"2013-07-11T22:06:56","modified_gmt":"2013-07-12T06:06:56","slug":"4-methods-to-make-personal-development-a-lot-more-fun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/4-methods-to-make-personal-development-a-lot-more-fun\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Methods to Make Personal Development A Lot More Fun"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;\" class=\"sharethis-inline-share-buttons\" ><\/div><p><\/p>\n<p>Personal development can be fun. But often times, it can also feel like a chore. You have to do this, and practice that, and you don\u2019t really feel like it, and you\u2019re not seeing fast enough improvements, and you\u2019re frustrated and disheartened.<\/p>\n<p>In the long term, if you wanna keep developing yourself and see meaningful changes in your life, it\u2019s important for personal development to be fun; to be able to enjoy the journey, not just the destination.<\/p>\n<p>Over the years, being a big self-improvement fan, I\u2019ve tested various methods to make it more fun. I\u2019ve identified 4 that create mind-blowing effects, and I\u2019m gonna share them with you in the following paragraphs.<\/p>\n<p><b>1. Stop Thinking You Need Personal Development<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Most people tend to go into personal development with the perception that they are broken and they need fixing. They see themselves as damaged goods at some level, and they see self-improvement as the necessary solution.<\/p>\n<p>However, this is rarely, if ever the case. You\u2019re not broken and you don\u2019t need fixing. Sure, you may have your flaws and imperfections, but doesn\u2019t everybody? And that doesn\u2019t make them defective.<\/p>\n<p>When you realize this and you accept it, you stop seeing self-improvement as something you need, and you start to see it as something you want. You want it because you know bettering yourself will result in a better life, but you don\u2019t truly need it. It\u2019s a personal choice.<\/p>\n<p>Coming from this angle makes self-improvement a lot more fun. It takes the pressure off and it permits you to take pleasure in the process. It\u2019s like: \u201cIf it goes well, great, if not, oh well, at least I enjoyed it\u201d. And this is an amazing mindset to have.<\/p>\n<p><b>2. Always Reward Progress<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Personal development can be slow. Change doesn\u2019t happen overnight, and the desired results frequently refuse to show up with the intensity you want them to have. And this creates frustration.<\/p>\n<p>There is a workaround this frustration, which is to reward yourself for every small progress you make. It can take you years to reach your desired destination. But you\u2019ll make progress every single day. Why not take pleasure in it?<\/p>\n<p>Well, you can do this. Firstly by acknowledging all progress and being grateful for it, and secondly by rewarding yourself for it.<\/p>\n<p>What gives you instant gratification? Movies, games, relaxation, going out? Use these elements as rewards for sticking to the process, and for every step forward. Just one disclaimer: try to use rewards that don\u2019t damage your life in the long-run. Avoid rewards like drinking, smoking, etc.<\/p>\n<p><b>3. Do It Together With Others<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Most activities are more fun when done along with other people than when done alone. Personal development is definitely one of them.<\/p>\n<p>When one or more other people accompany you on the same journey, you share stories, you learn from one another, you support each other, and the journey is visibly more delightful.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s why it\u2019s good to have company in self-growth. This company can be a friend you have in real life, which you get to join you on your journey. If you want, for instance, to work on building your public speaking skills over the next year, tell some friends about this and see if you can get them to join you.<\/p>\n<p>It can also be people on a blog or personal development forum. These environments often create a good opportunity for people with similar goals to communicate, help each other and make the process fun. So if your real friends are not helpful regarding your self-improvement, try some virtual ones.<\/p>\n<p><b>4. Choose Fun Personal Development Activities <\/b><\/p>\n<p>Most personal development goals can be reached through a range of personal development exercises or activities. And some are a lot more fun than others.<\/p>\n<p>You can increase your communication skills by going to formal social events and carefully studying every word you say, or by going to chill parties, talking with lots of people, being genuine and seeing what happens. The second choice will likely be a lot more fun.<\/p>\n<p>Whatever self-improvement goals you have, take some time to consider how to go about reaching them. Try to see the full array of possibilities and out of them choose the ones that seem most enjoyable.<\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t jump on the first road you see. If you just look around a bit, you might find a much better one slightly to the side of the first one.<\/p>\n<p>I can vouch from experience that personal development can be a lot of fun. In fact it can be so much fun that the destination becomes secondary, and you just wanna be on the journey. Because it\u2019s a fulfilling, integral part if your lifestyle, and your life simply wouldn\u2019t be the same without it. That\u2019s a great place to be in.<\/p>\n<p>&#8212;&#8211;<\/p>\n<p><i>Eduard Ezeanu teaches shy people <\/i><a href=\"http:\/\/www.peopleskillsdecoded.com\/how-to-stop-being-shy\/\"><i>how to stop being shy<\/i><\/a><i>, as well as <\/i><a href=\"http:\/\/www.peopleskillsdecoded.com\/how-to-talk-to-people\/\"><i>how to talk to people<\/i><\/a><i> in social situations, and helps them get out of their shell to discover a world full of opportunities. He also posts on his two blogs, Art of Confidence and People Skills Decoded. <\/i><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Personal development can be fun. But often times, it can also feel like a chore. You have to do this, and practice that, and you don\u2019t really feel like it, and you\u2019re not seeing fast enough improvements, and you\u2019re frustrated and disheartened.  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/4-methods-to-make-personal-development-a-lot-more-fun\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12163,"featured_media":14694,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[205,6],"tags":[4653,94,54,4629],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>4 Methods to Make Personal Development A Lot More Fun - Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Personal development can be fun. 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You have to do this, and practice that, and you don\u2019t really feel like it, and you\u2019re not seeing fast enough improvements, and you\u2019re frustrated and disheartened.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/4-methods-to-make-personal-development-a-lot-more-fun\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pickthebrain\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-07-12T06:06:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/Juggling-still02-640x358.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"499\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"279\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@pickthebrain\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@pickthebrain\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Erin Falconer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/4-methods-to-make-personal-development-a-lot-more-fun\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/Juggling-still02-640x358.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/Juggling-still02-640x358.jpg\",\"width\":499,\"height\":279},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/4-methods-to-make-personal-development-a-lot-more-fun\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/4-methods-to-make-personal-development-a-lot-more-fun\/\",\"name\":\"4 Methods to Make Personal Development A Lot More Fun - Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/4-methods-to-make-personal-development-a-lot-more-fun\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2013-07-12T06:06:56+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-07-12T06:06:56+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2da8ae162c097bdb749ab098472b4cc5\"},\"description\":\"Personal development can be fun. 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