This post is all about the 5 essential areas of personal development you have to focus on to become your highest self!

I am sure this year one of your new year’s resolutions is to become a better person. I know I have.

But what you might be asking yourself is how do I become the best version of myself, how do I work on my self-improvement?

And what does it exactly mean to work on your personal development, where do you start?

If you are filled with these doubts, you are in the right place because today you´ll learn the 5 areas of personal development you should take into account in your journey and plan to become the best version of yourself!

Why you should work on your personal development?

So becoming the best version of yourself and being a better person sounds very dreamy, but why should I spend time on myself? 

Even though this may seem a stupid question the truth is that there are many people who “work on themselves” because they are told to, without really understanding why or how does that benefit them.

So why should you?

A wise man, called Jim Rohn, once said: “If you want to be wealthy and happy you have to learn to work harder on yourself than you do on your job If you work hard on your job you can make a living, but if you work hard on yourself you’ll make a fortune”.

There will always be a limit to how successful, how abundant, how wealthy and happy you can be, and that limit is YOU. Because to have more than you´ve got, you have to become more than you are.

Our personality, our thoughts, our actions, our words all these factors are constantly attracting things to us and what we have attracted today, whether we were pleased with it or not, we have attracted by becoming the person we are today.

For example, you won´t be given a large amount of money to manage if you are not prepared to do so. If you have a bad relationship with money and don´t know how to intelligently manage it, don’t expect these skills and abilities to magically appear in your head when you receive a larger amount of money.

Why is that? Because we can’t handle what we have not prepared ourselves to. That is also the reason why it is important to spend a part of the time from this stage we are living in our lives preparing for the next one, so that when new and bigger opportunities, responsibilities, and blessings come we are prepared to handle and manage them.

So answering the question we discussed at the beginning: why should you work on your personal development and strive to be a better person?

The main answer is because of two reasons. The first one is because the more you work on yourself the more success, abundance, and wealth you´ll achieve since these two things are inevitably linked. And the second one is to prepare ourselves through that previous work for bigger opportunities in our lives, opportunities that will eventually build the life of our dreams and create into our lives anything we desire.

The 5 areas of personal development

So what are the areas that I should work on to become my highest self? Well, these essential areas that you should never forget about in your personal development journey are mental growth, social growth, emotional growth, physical growth, and spiritual growth.

Area of personal development Nº1: Mentally

Our mind has the power to create when trained and developed.

The mind is a vast and extensive topic that we could take about for hours, as well as a great conditioning factor in our lives, it is the place where every fire is ignited by its spark.

So what does working on our mental growth mean? 

Working in this area of personal development includes improving our mental capacities and growth, focusing on areas like improving our skills, and talents, seeding empowering beliefs while destroying limiting ones, facing our fears and traumas, learning new abilities that will help us become the highest version of ourselves as well as build the dream of out lives…

Because this area is so vast, I to help you start by answering the following question: How does your highest self look like mentally? your mind. Think about their skills, their habits, routines, personality, and how they face challenges, failures, and adversities… Are they ambitious, determined, kind, fearless? 

What is their self-talk like, what kind of things do they focus their energy and attention on, and on the contrary what kind of things they don´t waste their time and energy on? What do they spend their free time on? What are their core values? What kind of beliefs do they have? I want you to write down everything that crosses your mind.

Values are the things that you believe are important in the way you live your life. They are the fundamental beliefs that guide your actions and determine your priorities. Values are the terms with which you determine if your life feels full, abundant, accomplished, and happy. Your core value is the one that defines your biggest priority in life, the one that when you say it out loud makes you vibrate with emotion.

Here is a list of 100 values worth checking out to find out yours!

Once you have a clear of what your highest self looks like mentally, I want to write in a list all of the qualities that you have in common with them and another one filled with all the qualities, skills, habits, etc. that you have yet to accomplish.

Trying to implement and adopt all of these traits at once can be a little overwhelming and unrealistic, so I want to choose a maximum of three and create a plan of action on how to implement them. And once you do, you move on to the next three, until one day you wonñt have to wonder what your highest self looks like, because you will be her.

Don´t know how to create a plan of action, here’s a complete guide on how to successfully create one!

Area of personal development Nº2: Physically

The mind and the body work together in syntony, which is why it´s so important to take care of and develop our physical being as much as our mental one.

So what does developing this area of persona development include? Anything that affects your physical body, meaning food, exercise, your health…

I want you to think of the quote treat your body like a temple, And now I want you to think of how you would treat a temple. Are you treating your body in the same way? What could you do to treat your physical being better?

Pay close attention to your diet, and the foods you are feeding your body with. Did you know that eating processed foods (like cereals, biscuits, microwave meals…) causes our energy levels to decrease and our bodies to underperform. Or that hydrating our body even 10% less hydration means 30% less brain activity? 

How and how much we hydrate our body has a great impact on our energy and vibration.

But only that, because it is not only the lack of hydration but also the food we eat. Refined sugars, coffee, alcohol… not only do they dehydrate our mind but also increase the acidity of our body, which weakens it and turns it into a breeding ground for all kinds of diseases.

Moreover, I highly encourage you to question everything you believed about the aliments you often consume and their impacts on our bodies. Research about the food industry, what types of aliments have a positive impact on the body and which don´t, and give your body the love and care it deserves. Remember that our bodies are the only real home we truly possess during our lives.

Area of personal development Nº3º: Spirituality

Humans are more than animals because we possess spiritual qualities that make us different.

Most people believe that because they already believe in something or on the contrary that they don’t believe in anything this area doesn´t affect them. But developing our spiritual self has nothing to do with religion, and although most religions talk about this subject, you should never dismiss this aspect of personal development whether you are a practitioner or not.

Because investing in your spiritual being is about creating a deeper connection between mind, body, spirit, and the world that surrounds you.

Spirituality is about learning more about yourself, discovering your values, and learning what’s truly important to you and what you want out of life. It´s about connecting yourself with the nature around you and the universe you live in,

And one of the biggest benefits of focusing on this area is that, as you deepen your spirituality, it helps guide you in all aspects of your personal development journey as you get to know and understand these three essential parts of life, your mind, your soul and your body.

Area of personal development  Nº4: Socially

Probably the most underlooked category, but none of the less important is our social skills, which include active listening, empathy, respect, communication skills, conflict resolution, etc.

We are social creatures, who depend upon human interaction, no matter how much of an extrovert or introvert you believe yourself to be. 

We have an impact on the people who surround our lives, the same way that they directly and subconsciously influence our being and emotions.

And it is because of how big our social environment and how effectively we communicate affect our lives that we should take care of our personal growth, the same way we take care of our bodies and minds.

Area of personal development Nº5: Emotionally

Emotions, combined with our spiritual qualities, are one of the things that distinguish and make us humans. And our emotions, along with our minds, have the power to influence us in incredibly powerful ways, which can end up really good, or incredibly bad, depending on what types of emotions dominate your being and how you react to them.

So to work and develop this area of personal development I highly encourage you to invest time in improving your emotional intelligence.

Emotional intelligence can be described as the ability and the skill to understand, manage and use your emotions in a positive way.

Emotional intelligence can be defined by four attributes as explained by Daniel Goleman in his book “Emotional Intelligence”: self-management, self-awareness, social awareness, and relationship management.

• Self-management: being able to control impulsive behaviors and emotions, adapt through changing situations, take initiative and manage your emotions in healthy ways.

• Self-awareness: This attribute consists of recognizing your emotions and observing the way they affect your thoughts and actions. It also includes knowing your weaknesses, your strengths, and being self-confident.

• Social awareness: Being socially aware is all about empathy, it´s about understanding the emotions and needs of the people around you. About being able to put yourself in the position of others and feeling comfortable socially.

• Relationship management: How the name suggests, this attribute is about being able to create and maintain good relationships, clearly communicate your ideas and thoughts as well as the ability to work in a team.

Want to discover the top 4 activities to improve your mental health, click here!

Thank you so much for investing your time in this article. I hope the tools, tips, and steps here will help you start your personal development journey and become the highest version of yourself!