Take the Next Step!
About two years ago, I was diagnosed with plantar fasciitis. This condition causes inflammation, swelling, and thickening of the tissue at the sole of your foot. It was extremely painful to walk and reduced flexibility in my foot. My podiatrist gave me two cortisone injections, which I can assure you was no joke, and only worked for a short period. The next step was physical therapy. At my first appointment, the physical therapist assessed my walking and level of pain. He advised that I had been walking incorrectly. It seemed I did not walk heel to toe, which is recommended. He also stated this was also impacting my hip placement and posture. I still remember his words: “you can correct your walking with focus and practice.” After focusing on how to walk correctly and practicing for several weeks, I saw a change in both my level of pain and posture.
You are probably wondering what this has to do with personal development. If you have been stagnant in your personal development or lack the confidence to take the next step, I want to tell you that you can walk differently and change!
Are you ready to take the next step?
Stay Focused
No one can own your self-development and growth except you. So often, we may encourage others yet fail to see our own value. I believe you have a purpose to make a difference in your community, workplace, and family. Take time today to ask, “what do I want to be when I grow up?” I guarantee you already know the answer. Focus on what you can do to achieve it. Does that mean it will always be a walk in the park? Absolutely not, but seeing your goals and dreams fulfilled are worth the added work and sweat!
Identify and Overcome Obstacles
Don’t deny or avoid obstacles. Tackle them! If you are overly positive and optimistic, you may sometimes fail to look at obstacles. You may think, “no worries, we can conquer this.” That is great! But, if you don’t have a plan to overcome barriers and obstacles, you will not succeed. Write out those things that could stop your development. Once you have a list, challenge yourself with a specific plan to overcome each of them one by one. Don’t think you need to do this on your own. Enlist a trusted friend or mentor to help guide you and hold you accountable.
Practice
You can’t get good at anything if you don’t put in the time to practice. During my physical therapy, we consistently did the same exercises over and over—heel to toe, heel to toe. It was a concentrated effort to break the old habit of walking incorrectly. It didn’t just take one or two tries; it took weeks. Even now, I have to remind myself to walk heel to toe.
What old habits do you need to break? Self-discipline is the ability to control one’s feelings and overcome one’s weaknesses; the ability to pursue what one thinks is right despite temptations to abandon it (New Oxford American Dictionary). Let’s be honest; it’s not easy to be self-disciplined—especially when we don’t see immediate results. But consistent patterns of living lead to lasting results. Today, decide on one thing you need to stop doing and replace it with one thing you need to start doing.
I have confidence in you that you will take the next step! Are you ready? Let’s go!
La-Kita Gilmore
“Be a Leader Worth Following”