Welke stappen ga ik zetten?

Photo Ed Erkes Nature Photography

What steps do I take?

What makes your heart beat faster? What activities will you do? What gets you excited? To be good, it is important to find answers to these questions. Part 1 of Being Good was about Who am I? and What makes me unique? And if you have found answers to those then the next thing is to explore what you are going to do to develop yourself further. So hence the next question to be good: What steps do I take?

Show courage and follow your heart

A human being is curious by nature and wants to grow. But in order to grow, it is important to take steps. So you need to do something to become more skilled and develop or cash in on your talents. For that reason, you need courage to do what is outside your comfort zone and what you have never done before. But what energizes you and makes your heart beat faster. Even if you don’t know exactly why. Yet you have to take the leap, make a choice and take a step. Because doing nothing is not an option! In doing so, realize that a small step is also a step. Because it doesn’t have to be grand and compelling. In other words, keep it concrete and manageable.

Exercises and activities

What makes your heart beat faster? What activities will you do? What gets you excited? Here are some activities and exercises to make you more aware of these:

  •  Sometimes people have lost track. A track they left years ago for one reason or another. To find it again, it works well to go through your curriculum vitae and write down which activities gave you energy and which cost you energy. What do you think back to with pleasure and what do you think back to with horror? What made your heart beat faster? What
    do you talk about with pleasure? What did you work zealously for?
  • Examine your fears. These may be keeping you from doing what you have to do. You may lack the courage to do something you know you would like to do. But you see bears along the way, windmills become dragons you have to defeat. Describe these and discuss them with someone you trust. Invent a ruse to hug the bear and defeat the dragon.
  • Evaluate regularly. Ask yourself the following questions from time to time:
    • What have I been doing lately?
    • Are these activities helping me achieve what I want to achieve?
    • What went well, what can be improved, and what is best?
    • What will I do (differently) tomorrow?
  • Speak out, let the world around you know what you want to do to achieve your goals. Talk about the milestones you have set; talk about how you are going to give substance to your ideals and goals.
  •  Research what someone with a similar task, role or function to you is doing to fulfill it well. Talk to people about it, and listen to feedback, tips and questions they have
  • Who are your examples, role models, or idols? Ask or research what they did to achieve their ideal. What path did they take? What lessons have they learned? What fears did they have to overcome? Meet with them if you can and have a conversation. Or be inspired by stories and books.
  • On my website is a listening exercise (in Dutch only) to reflect on the question, What steps am I going to take? Several questions will be asked to help you examine yourself. Have pen and paper handy to write down your thoughts after listening. Stop the exercise to reflect longer on a question and to make brief notes of your thoughts, if necessary. After the exercise, take the time to write down your thoughts and notes made more extensively.

Ingredients for your recipe

Perhaps you have your own exercises or activities that have proven in the past to help you to reflect on the steps to be taken. I invite you to write these down. All the exercises and activities that help you grow and lead your life are the ingredients for the recipe for personal development.

The reward

The reward for a good examination of the question What steps do I  take?

  • You take your own tasks and roles seriously.
  • You estimate your own responsibilities well.
  • You are practical, efficient and smart with your time.
  • You estimate your own priorities well and can improvise.
  • You know how to balance different roles.
  • You generally enjoy what you do.
  • You understand what is expected of you in a role.

Info – Quickscan – Book

Want to explore what you can do to boost your personal development and leadership? Then contact me with no obligation. Or check out: Three Services – Personal Development.

How good are you at answering the question Who are the others? Take my Quickscan and I’ll get back to you!

Introduction or ordering Excelling in Freedom | A Recipe for Personal Development via website.

Series on Being Good

When are you a good person? Inspired by Plato, Hartman and evolution, I described my answer to this question in my book Excelling in Freedom | A Recipe for Personal Development. To become, be or remain good, I have formulated six questions. And the six questions are important to develop personally into a good person. Or, that help you stay good. So that you can lead your own life and make a meaningful contribution to the world. These questions, plus exercises and activities, are addressed one by one in the article series: Being Good.