First, a bit of an intro…

I started this post a week ago, but it obviously wasn’t the time to share it because the words just wouldn’t flow. That happens sometimes when I’m too emotionally invested in the content that I’m trying to produce, or when I’m trying to write something that would really make me look like a fool. (Much thanks to @denyseduhaime for pointing that one out.) So after letting it percolate for a few days here’s the revised version sans emotion and the bits that would make me look silly. Please do leave me a comment after you’ve read it. I’d really appreciate the feedback.

As you no doubt know (and are probably sick of hearing) if you’ve been hangin’ out here for any length of time, one of my major goals this year is to come out of my self-inflicted hibernation of the past several years and learn how to live again. I’m on a quest to find myself, to stretch beyond my boundaries, and truly let myself be myself.

I’d tried before this year, but never had much luck really coming out of my shell. I blamed it all on the fact that I’m a walking poster for introverts, and a few other things but never did I really admit that I had made a choice to shut myself off from the world. The walls started coming down a bit when I attended Ross Goldberg’s virtual seminar just before Christmas. That’s when I rediscovered Twitter as a tool for communicating. Prior to that I’d used it a bit for talking with friends, but never got into using it for meeting new people or talking about anything really important.

Here’s the thing… Ever since I started hangin’ out with Shileen Nixon and the Wonder Woman Challenge gang, I’ve been spending a lot more time on Twitter. I’m slowly becoming more confident in my ability to talk to people and to jump into a conversation here and there instead of being the traditional wallflower that I’ve always been. It’s all part of reaching my goal of figuring out who I am at this stage of my life and just where this fork in the road is gonna take me.

The self-improvement experts say that if you want to improve upon your self, then you should surround yourself with people who can do whatever it is that you want to do better than you can do it. (Say that one ten times fast!) I never quite figured out how to do that because I’m normally way too shy to talk to people. However, it occurred to me that for the past few weeks I have been doing exactly that — mostly without even trying. And I have to say that although I’m standin’ so far out of my comfort zone right now that I’m literally shakin’ in my boots, I’m also having a great time doing it.

I have met so many awesome people on Twitter in the last few weeks and every single one has helped me to move a little further away from the wall. It really hit me one morning as I was reading tweets and feeling all the amazing energy flowing around and through me, just how far out of my comfort zone I’ve come in the last month. There are moments when the energy is high and I feel really confident in communicating with people, and then there are moments of total panic where I feel so freakin’ inadequate and just want to crawl into a cave and hide for a few days. Those days are becoming more rare, however, as the wonderful friends I’ve made on Twitter just won’t let me hide any longer. When I really feel like going back into hibernation they commiserate, encourage, and challenge me to take one more step into the the unknown beyond my comfort zone. And I am so very thankful for them for doing it.

Anyways, the point I’m tryin’ to make here is that the Twitter community is amazing, and that using Twitter as a tool in your personal growth journey is one of the best things you can do. There are so many wonderful people out there, and if you open yourself up and allow them to find you, then the people who are supposed to be in your life at any given minute will surely find a way to be there. The amazing new connections I have made have helped me to move beyond my comfort zone and get ready to take the next step — to stop staring at the closed doors and start wondering just what lies beyond the new doors that are opening for me.

If you need proof, three months ago I would never have been able to write a post like the one I did last night. I may have thought it, but actually expressing feelings of love and gratitude out loud would have sent me racing for the nearest cave.

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and reading over the last few weeks, and have come to the conclusion that a lot of personal development work comes down to pure common sense. Even the Law of Attraction at its most elemental – you get what you think about – is pretty straightforward.

For whatever reason, human nature seems to always want to make things a lot harder than they have to be.

So in the interests of simplifying things just a little bit, here are my favorite four common sense rules to live by.

1. Keep your word.

2. Treat other people the way you want to be treated.

3. Don’t procrastinate.

4. Make a plan and follow it.

I’m sure I could, and probably will, write more in depth articles on all of these at some point. But for tonight, brevity rules!

What’s your favorite life rule (in 10 words or less)?

Making a New Start on the Path to Personal Growth

It sounds cliché, but the path to personal growth really does begin with a single step. What many people don’t realize is that the first step isn’t an actual physical step. It’s the mental preparation that you do before you start a new personal development journey that determines how successful you are in making the changes you desire.

Having an optimistic mindset means letting go of any baggage from your past that could be holding you back. I realize that it’s hard to let go of some things — heck, even I’m still hanging on to things from the past that would be better put to rest — but the whole purpose of this journey you’re about to embark on is to grow. And it’s harsh to say, but some things really are better off left in the dust as you move forward.

With that being said, I want to give you three tips today that you can put to use on your path.

1. Be kind to yourself.

Everyone makes mistakes, but only a fool lets those mistakes stop him/her from trying again. Don’t be afraid to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again. (Yes, I swiped that line from the old song ‘Pick Yourself Up’.) Whatever you do, don’t beat yourself up over what went wrong. Be kind and encouraging to yourself as you make a fresh start.

2. Retool your plan.

No matter how hard we try for the perfect plan, it just ain’t gonna happen. Life gets in the way and sometimes the goals we set for ourselves just aren’t reasonable. Many a plan has failed because its creator over-estimated what they could accomplish at the time. Don’t be afraid to sim;plify to get your desired results. Try setting three goals instead of thirty, and you’ll find it’s easier to achieve them because it’s easier to focus on them. When you complete one, add another to the list and before you know it, all thirty of the goals on your original list will be met and you’ll be creating another new set things to accomplish.

3. Take Action Now!

It’s important to get moving once you make the decision to move. The last thing you want to do is procrastinate at taking the first step. The more you wait and watch the days go by, the harder it gets to start and the more depressed you begin to feel. Don’t worry if your first few actions don’t work quite the way you intended. You’ll know before long if you’ve made a totally wrong move. And if that happens, you simply start over at step one — that would be dusting yourself off, in case you forgot already — and repeat the process. After all, your plans aren’t set in stone — or at least they shouldn’t be — and you might just have stumbled upon an awesome opportunity that you never would have if you hadn’t taken action.

So there you have it, an easy three step plan for starting down the path to personal growth. I look forward to sharing a few steps with you and hearing about your journey. (Hint: that means don’t be shy — leave a comment!)