The key to a life of continual learning and improvement lies in developing a specific plan for growth and following through with it. Once you have set your goals, you need to create a plan.

The process of personal growth planning revolves around the creation of an action plan that is based on your ambitions for development in areas such as career and education, but also self-improvement. In general, the plan contains a statement of a future reality and the way you intend to realize it.

Most people are facing difficulties when it comes to the question what they should include in their personal growth plan. Very broadly, your plan should contain the following five criteria:

1. What you want (or where you want to be).
2. Why you want it.
3. How you plan to accomplish this vision.
4. The potential obstacles, risks and dangers.
5. How you plan to overcome the difficulties.

You can also include alternative plans that you can quickly execute in the case of failure. It can be beneficial to thoroughly answer the following questions, before developing the plan:

• What do I really want to make out of my life?
• What kind of person do I really want to be?
• Do I have a vision of what I want to see implemented in this world?
• What are my goals and ambitions?
• What are my dreams?
• Are my current decisions leading me exactly where I want to be?

Planning isn’t difficult. What is difficult, though, is creating a plan that will actually get you where you want to be. This also means that you will have to identify everything that will get you closer to your goals.

This is what you need to do in order to specify your individual growth plan:

1. Taking of an inventory. Evaluation might be the most difficult part of creating your personal growth plan. It requires you to be honest with yourself and the situation you find yourself in. The analysis of your current situation helps you to identify the areas that you can work on in the future. This stage also requires you to reevaluate your goals and ambitions.

2. Writing of a mission statement. Having a personal mission statement can be helpful to people who want to be able to evaluate the purpose of their actions and activities. Such a statement helps you to ask yourself if whatever you are doing contributes to your mission or not.

3. Short and long-term planning. When developing a personal growth plan it is crucial to separate your plans into short, medium and long-term sections. If you are only planning in the long run, you will most likely neglect the importance of planning of short-term actions.

4. Reassessing your plan. The continuous reassessment of your plan allows you to develop responses to recent developments. It will further help you to make better decisions at the present moment.

5. Committing and taking action. What is the purpose of having a plan if you do not execute it? To make sure that you don’t forget your plan, be committed to it and take the action that is necessary to implement it.

Don’t wait to start. Start today. Write your goals and make your plan. 2017 will be here soon!