Integral Personal Development Plan

Personal development is not optional. No matter who we are or what our circumstances, at some level we are all developing. There is an evolutionary impulse in each of us that cannot be denied. Through the phases of history, we have gone from being motivated only to survive, to our current world, where for many of the Western world, survival is handled, and we now have choice around what we do with our lives. At the same time, we have become conscious that we are conscious. Or, to put it in another way, we are able to observe our selves from the third person perspective. To notice that we are noticing. And in that noticing, to observe our unfolding.

A personal development plan therefore brings consciousness to our development. We clearly choose how we want to unfold, which aspects we want to shine light on, and which aspects we would prefer to keep in the dark. All of this tempered by the environment we are born into, and the environment that we choose as we become adults.

If we explore an integral personal development plan, then we include in our plan some essential elements.

Personal development plan for the upper left quadrant.
Explore our beliefs. What lead us to these beliefs? Are they relevant to our current life? Or are some of our beliefs informed by an old world view that is no longer relevant? Did our family, teachers, or church tell us that if we did ‘x’, then ‘y’ would happen. Is our current life choices still dictated by this belief? How do we react to other people around their beliefs. Do we judge then against our own? Who says what or who is right? Who gets to decide?
Similarly, what are our values? What matters most to us? Have we built a life around our values, or do our values get squashed in the corner while we live a pseudo life?
Do we know our strengths? Our weaknesses, our skills, our natural abilities? How do all of these play out in our life? When do we fold under pressure? When do we say yes when we mean to say no? Why? Is there a part of us that wants to be liked so much that we step over our values and beliefs when the chips are down, compromising on our own integrity?
And what are our needs? What happens when we do not get our needs met? Do we fall into default behaviours?
What is meaningful to us? What do we want to happen in life? What do I resist? Why? How do I break through my resistance?

Personal development plan for the the upper right quadrant.
What are our habits? The ones we are aware of and the ones we cannot see? Ask friends you trust for feedback. How do others perceive us? What is the difference in their perception and ours? Do we leave a trail of chaos and confusion behind us? Do we behave in ways that creates a positive or negative wake? What actions in the world do we need to take. Do we need an exercise program, to modify our diet, to start an integral life practice?
How do we measure our own health, actions, results, life? Are the measures valid, or are we lying to ourselves? Do we compare ourselves to others? At what cost?

Personal development plan for the lower left quadrant.
Look at the environment you were born and raised in. From this, what are your relationship expectations? What views have you adopted from this environment? For example, if you were born into a strong Catholic family, you will have a different view of the world than if you were born into an atheist, or Buddhist family. How has this cultural upbringing shaped you? What aspects of your cultural history do you still find relevant? Is there any aspect that no longer serves you?
How are your relationships? Do you have ghosts of relationships past that need to be completed? Is there anyone in your life who creates a negative charge within in you when you think about them? Why? Is there any words that need to be spoken to anyone that have not yet been spoken? To anyone? Would you want to be in relationship with you? If not, why? Which parts of you do you need to heal in order to be in better relationships?
Where do you belong? Who is your tribe? Where do you fit?
What are the unspoken rules in your life? Do they still serve you?

Personal development plan for the lower right quadrant.
What systems and support structures do you have in your life? For example, do you have a small cadre of intimate friends that you know you can go to when the chips are down? Do you have all of your paper-work in order? If you died tomorrow, would your family be able to access all the relevant information immediately and without stress? (Please let me know if not, as I have an alliance with people who do incredible work in this area.) Are your bills and taxes up to date and do you have automatic payment systems in place? How about systems for your health management? Does your dentist make appointments with you every 6 months? Do you have regularly scheduled doctors check ups etc?

What is my relationship to money?

As you can see when we are designing an integral personal development plan, there are many places to start. The above illustrates just some of the possible questions. Please also check out the Personal Integrity Inventory. This little tool has power way beyond its first glance appearance.

After exploring our personal development plan with the quadrants, we move to the levels of development in different lines. All of us have areas that we are good at. We also have areas that we are not so good at. You may be great at music and poor at sport. Or very intelligent but not practical.
Some of the possible lines of development include the cognitive, emotional, moral, interpersonal (relational), physical, musical, aesthetic, spiritual.
Choose the lines you want to develop further, and then craft how you are going to do this specifically. Do check out the many articles we have on the interpersonal, conscious communication aspect of development.

There are many other aspects we could include in the design of an integral personal development plan. We could explore the development of the healthy masculine, the heathy feminine. This is a topic I will be exploring in much more detail in future articles.
We could also look at types, such as the enneagram or our archetypal profile, and work with aspects from these tools.

An essential aspect of any personal development plan is to consider the shadow. The parts of us that are below the surface of our conscious awareness, or the aspects that we consciously keep in the dark. Shadow work is often best done with a specialist practitioner. Someone who knows the signs of the games we play.

A well crafted integral personal development plan will create the desired stretch in your development. It is not supposed to be easy, or comfortable. You will feel challenged.

For best results, plan to continue on your personal development for the rest of your life. Do so consciously, strategically, and make sure there is an element of fun.

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