[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]There are some things that I have learned over the years that I wish I had known earlier. I strongly believe that we should learn personal development in school where we are taught the 16 things I am going to talk about in this article.

A few hours a week in school would be enough for teachers to teach us about personal development. These lessons would have benefited many students and society in general.

Having said that let me tell you about these 16 things.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

• The 80/20 rule

The Pareto Principle, also known, as the 80/20 rule states that 80% of the effects or results come from the 20% of the causes or activities. This rule helps you to prioritize your activities focusing on those which really matters because there are many of them that you are doing right now that aren’t probably as useful as you might think. Applying this concept will help you to make better use of the time, giving you enough energy to complete those activities that bring the greatest value to your life.

• Parkinson’s Law

This law dictates that work will expand in time just to fill the time available for its completion. For instance, if something has to be done in one year, it will be done in this time.

Things can be done quicker than you think so force yourself to find the solution in less time. For example, set an hour to solve the problem, instead of the whole day. If you focus your mind on solving the problem in this short time, you might achieve it. It might not be the perfect result (as if you have done it in a week) but it will be enough, as we said before 80% of the results come from the 20% activities you do. On the contrary, the result can be the better one because you didn’t spend much time on solving the problem, over complicating it.

Applying this law can help you improve your ability to focus on the important things, doing things even faster. Otherwise, more time will make you stressful.

• Batching

Batch processing consists on grouping similar tasks that require similar resources in order to streamline their completion. In other words, doing them all in a row using less start-up time. This can also be applied to those routine tasks which can create procrastination and low-level anxiety.

Batching makes you focus even more and be engaged with the tasks you are working on.[/vc_column_text][the_ad_group id=”36″][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]

• Give value, get value. Not vice versa.

There is a very truthful and counter-intuitive saying that states you will receive what you give. So if you want to receive more you should increase the value you give. This could be money, love, kindness, opportunities or many other things. On the contrary, many people think that it works on the other way that we need to receive in order to give back.

Either way, it would be nice just to get something for nothing, but that rarely happen.

A simple example of batching could be doing these activities: clean your desk/answer today’s emails / do the dishes / make three calls / write a grocery shopping list for tomorrow.

• Be proactive instead of reactive

To be proactive means to be the one to the make the first action or take the first step. You will have the control of your life, avoiding long waits and having the feeling that you are been run by outside forces.

If everyone just waits for the rest to start, it will take a lot of time before it happens and very little will get done.

So be proactive and get the ball rolling.

• Failures and mistakes are great for success.

Being afraid of making mistakes, it will only make you less proactive and more reactive, waiting for someone else to do the things that you are afraid of. This conception comes from the school where you learn to not make mistakes, even though the first years of your life you learned by trying and failing until achieving.

Have you ever thought what would have happened if you try and fail? Yes, maybe people are going to laugh about it, but it won’t be the end of the world. It also happens that people are living and trying to achieve their own challenges so they are very busy to care about what others are doing.

Success comes from being persistent, trying until achieving just like when you were learning how to ride a bike. You didn’t give up on the first attempt you fell. So, let’s reconnect us with our 5-years-old self. We might even enjoy the process and might learn a lot of the experience such as valuable lessons.[/vc_column_text][the_ad_group id=”36″][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]

• Don’t beat yourself up

This is a common habit that is pointless. It makes you waste your value time and creates unnecessary pain inside. Don’t give up just because you made a mistake.

• Assume rapport

Assuming rapport is a really good social skill tip. It consists of thinking that the person you are going to meet is a really good friend of yours. It will set you on an enjoyable state of mind. Otherwise, you will get stuck in an awkward conversation because you are just nervous.

• Use the advantages of your reticular activation

The Reticular Activation System is a little piece of our brain. It is a filter which processes the information that is going to be noticed by our conscious mind. Having said that, we have to focus on the things we want. One way to do this is to set goals and frequently review them. This will help you to move towards your goals. You can also use external reminders that help you maintain your focus on the things you want to achieve. These reminders could be pieces of paper where you write down messages such as: “Give value” or “Assume rapport”. Place them in a visible area so you can look at them every single day.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

• Change your reality with your attitude

You might have heard about keeping a positive attitude. But when people give this type of advice, they usually don’t tell us why. If you look things under an optimistic and positive view, you will start to see viewpoints that you haven’t seen before. As simple as this, changing your attitude will help you to change the things you focus on.

You might think that this is related to the previous point but it was worthy to talk about this in a separate way. When the R.A.S system is tuned into seeing negative things, pessimism can be considered as realism. So it will make you feel that you are right all the time. Maybe you want to have this feeling but it also feels great to not being right all the time.

Do not over analyze this concept, just change your attitude for real and you will be surprised by the things you are going to see.

• Be grateful and make yourself happy

Being grateful for the things that are around you will help you to change your negative mood into a happy one.  This practice also helps to focus on the right things and maintain your attitude up. Furthermore, emotions are contagious so being happy and feeling grateful will make other happy.

• Don’t compare yourself with others

People compare themselves with others because they want to feed their ego by comparing with others. In this way, they will feel great about themselves. On the contrary, it can also make them compare themselves with those who have more than them making them feel sad.

The comparison is like a rollercoaster. Sometimes it makes you feel good, sometimes bad. You are just letting be controlled by others.

Nevertheless, if you compare yourself with yourself it will impact positively in your life because you will be able to realize how you have changed and how much you have grown. It will give you, personal power.

• 80-90% of the things you are afraid of, will never come into reality

The things you are afraid of are like monsters in your head. They do not exist, and if they do happen they probably won’t be as bad as you have imagined. Do not waste your time worrying about things that haven’t happened yet, they are just in your mind.

Easy to say, hard to apply but you can help yourself by thinking about how many of the things you were afraid of actually happened. This way you will be able to release worry from your thoughts.[/vc_column_text][the_ad_group id=”36″][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]

• Don’t take things too seriously

Taking things so seriously will only lead you to more unnecessary suffering. Enjoy life, relax. This can improve your mood and in consequence your life. Maybe it is easy to get obsessed with things, but most of the things you worry about won’t happen.

• Write down everything

This is a very effective activity. It will help you empty your mind, but at the

same time, it helps you to keep the focus on the things you want. It also helps to recover your good ideas that might be lost on your many thoughts.

• Every experience brings opportunities

It might sound contradictory but your mistakes and failures are sometimes the best way to grow and learn new things that if you have succeeded you wouldn’t have discovered. If you are going through this, just ask yourself what is the opportunity or the good in this? A negative experience can lead you to discover many positive experiences, with time.

Can you think of ways personal development in school could have helped you?[/vc_column_text][the_ad_group id=”36″][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row]