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Personal training for Personal Development

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Taking a kinder, more productive approach to your personal growth

We are used to the concept of having an effective structure for physical training – an all-round strategy; pacing it sensibly and safely and finding the right balance of challenge and care. But we don’t tend to apply this healthy and productive approach to our psychological growth. Building confidence, developing relationships, learning skills essential for leadership, dealing with difficult conversations…these are all things that need an approach much like we would take for good physical training.

Growth takes conscious awareness and choice, as well as turning the volume down on the inner critical voices! It takes training, rest, reflection and readjusting. It takes a willingness to adapt our ways (and thoughts) and to have an openness to discomfort.

 

Personal training for Personal Development Taking a kinder, more productive approach to your personal growth Bryony Rowntree
If we go all out, we risk injuring ourselves, such as shrinking back from stepping too far out of our comfort zone. And if we don’t challenge ourselves enough, we aren’t going to develop.

Diet and Water

Core to how we feel about ourselves, and therefore how well any development is going to go, is what we put into our body. Water, undisputedly, is central to our wellbeing. There is so much science out there now to support the fact that eating and drinking healthily supports our mental health and that processed food and all these energy drinks have a deeply detrimental effect on it. What we eat and drink impacts the brain synapses we build, the hormones released, the thoughts we have and how we feel about ourselves, others and circumstance. So, making conscious, kind choices about what we eat and drink could make all the difference to your growth.

Warming up

When training physically, we warm up to activate, stretch and protect our bodies. The same is needed when developing in other ways, so that we take care of ourselves, make sure we are coming from the right place and are heading in the right direction. You can do this by connecting in with yourself, then choosing what energy or value you want to come from with this journey and with each action along the way.

Strengthening & Building muscle memory

Repetition, reflection and perseverance. The more we do something, the more naturally it comes to us, with less discomfort and doubt, and with more confidence and ease. Reflection is crucial for us to adjust ourselves along the way. Perseverance keeps our intention louder than the inner critics…or when it momentarily slips, we are able to bring it back and keep going.

Challenge

To grow and develop, we need to challenge ourselves; to push ourselves beyond what we are already doing. Each of us has a different relationship with challenge – some people have a strong inner sense of it and some need more challenge and accountability from others. However you like to be challenged, it is about getting the right amount of it. You need enough to instigate change but not too much that you scupper yourself. When we step out into new territory, there is a natural response of wanting to hide – our inner critical voices have something to say about it! Even Brene Brown says that after doing her highly popular TED Talk, she had a massive vulnerability hangover the next day. If we stretch ourselves too far, those inner critics are going to have a field day and may send us back further than where we started! It is all about learning to set the right pace for you.

Plenty of rest

We so often underestimate the power of rest. Muscles (even the thinking and emotion ones) need a break to recuperate. Developing psychologically is hard work, so rest is a necessity to stay well but it also allows your brain to integrate and sort through your responses, learning and reflections, so that you can figure out your next steps.
…and, of course, adjusting all the above accordingly for extreme conditions – heatwaves, pandemics or any other kind of curve balls from life!

Want to talk about your personal growth?