Personal Development Toolkit

Posted by Jerry Lopper Aug 15, 2006

Welcome to Personal Development Toolkit, a new feature appearing here this week and continuing every Monday. Each week, Personal Development Toolkit will feature a one word tool you can use to construct additions to your personal growth and development. Each week's toolkit will include a brief description of the tool and a suggestion for using it.

Awareness. Paraphrasing Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Awareness implies vigilance in observing some thing or experience and alertness in drawing inferences from what one observes.

Example: Jeremy was shocked when he became aware that his whining and complaining were causing his friends to avoid him. From now on he will have greater awareness of his effect on others.

This Week: Be aware of your emotions. Several times a day take note of how you're feeling and what stimulated the feeling. Your emotions are unfailing indicators of the degree to which a current experience is in integrity with who you are.

If you're feeling positive it's an indication that you're being true to yourself. Negative feelings, of course, indicate the opposite. The rule of thumb is to keep doing things that bring you positive feelings. Some will bristle at this, believing that it's selfish to strive to feel good. However, when we feel good we're healthier, more energetic, more creative, and better able to reach out to others. We're also more fun to be around.