Last Updated on October 25, 2023 by Rayna
Time to read: 14 minutes
Every personal growth strategy starts with a plan. I have compiled a list of eight steps to help you to elevate your life with a personal growth plan. When you apply these strategic steps to your life, you will catapult yourself to the next level. If you are serious about changing your life for the better, then this blog post is for you!
“The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.”
-Mark Twain
Table of Contents
- Putting God First
- Finding Your Purpose and Destiny
- Strategy Step 1: Seek Jesus
- Strategy Step 2: Set Actionable Goals
- Strategy Step 3: Develop A Personal Growth Statement
- Strategy Step 4: Create A Vision Board
- Strategy Step 5: Set Aside Daily Time With Jesus
- Strategy Step 6: Start Regularly Journaling Your Thoughts And Feelings
- Strategy Step 7: Give Dedicated Attention To Emotional Healing
- Strategy Step 8: Start Working Out & Eating Healthy
- A Recap Of The 8 Step Strategy For Personal Growth
Putting God First
First and foremost, we have to learn to prioritize our relationship with God. Out of the presence of God everything else will flow. The most important thing you can do each day is spend time with God. Next, you will need to learn how to nurture yourself. Nurturing yourself is part of self care. A key component is learning the power of becoming who you were created to be. Another part of nurturing yourself is loving yourself well and developing a personal growth plan that’s outside of your comfort zone.
There’s no growth in a comfort zone; there’s no comfort in a growth zone.
-Anonymous
Your personal growth strategy should challenge you in the areas you do not particularly want to be challenged. Remember, that comfort is not anywhere in the growth zone so some of this may not be fun; but I promise you it’ll be worth your time. As you read, you will learn how to implement a strategic plan of action to give priority to all aspects of your life including body, soul, and spirit. I want to encourage you to set out on a mission to seek God and find out why you were born. Ask yourself, “what is my purpose and destiny?”
Finding Your Purpose and Destiny
As a Christian woman, Psalm 139:16 says that God planned your number of days and recorded them in your book. You have a book in heaven about your life and it contains your purpose and the God-given destiny to you are meant to fulfill. We can seek Jesus and ask Him to reveal to us His plan for our lives.
You saw who you created me to be before I became me! Before I’d ever seen the light of day, the number of days you planned for me were already recorded in your book.
Psalm 139:16, TPT
Let’s look at Ephesians 2:10 in The Passion Translation. The Bible says that there is a destiny upon your life that was planned in advance by God. As we live in unity with Jesus, we become His poetry. The key is to join yourself to Jesus.
We have become his poetry, a re-created people that will fulfill the destiny he has given each of us, for we are joined to Jesus, the Anointed One. Even before we were born, God planned in advance our destiny and the good works we would do to fulfill it! Ephesians 2:10, TPT
Ephesians 2:20, TPT
According to The Divinity Code to Understanding Your Dreams and Visions, the number eight is the symbol for a new beginning. Let’s use this eight step process below to join your life with Jesus, discover your purpose and destiny, and get you on the plan God ordained for you before you were ever born!
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Strategy Step 1: Seek Jesus
There’s a reason this blog is called Seeking Him Today. Everything that means anything starts with seeking Jesus. With that in mind, we have to seek Him to develop our personal growth strategy. I recommend setting aside some dedicated prayer time with Jesus to ask Him detailed questions about your future. I also recommend fasting and sitting in the questions.
Often you will not get a direct answer to the questions you ask in prayer. It seems like Jesus would rather speak in symbols and parables like He did in the bible. Present your questions to Jesus (hint: write them down!), pray, and wait on Him for the answer.
So many times in my life He has spoken to me when I least expected it in the oddest places. Open your heart and your mind to receive the answers any way they come. I like to think of it like a treasure hunt. We present Him with our questions, then we seek Him for the answers. Every time we receive an answer, it’s like finding the treasure.
Example personal growth questions are:
- What parts of my life should I change?
- How can I know You better?
- What am I good at? What motivates me?
- Where do You want me to focus?
- Where should I spend my time?
For more personal development questions, check out this blog with 97 Personal Development Questions. Once you hear from Holy Spirit, then it’s time to move on to Strategy Step 2.
Strategy Step 2: Set Actionable Goals
Setting actionable goals is a great way to start because it makes you think about where you want to go and how you are going to get there. Of course this starts with prayer and seeking Jesus but it also has a practical aspect. A good goal is an action that you can measure with a timeline. However, don’t box yourself in to easy goals. I want to challenge you to stretch yourself and grow. Create goals that are difficult to attain but within your skill set.
Here are some examples of actionable goals:
- I will dedicate 15 minutes to prayer and journaling each weekday morning
- I will be quick to repent every day and I will be open to change my thoughts, habits, and actions
- I will pray in tongues 10 minutes a day
- I will work out 3 times a week
- I will stop snacking after 7pm each night 😉
- I will start game night with my family once a week
- I will commit to attending a bible study for a semester
Strategy Step 3: Develop A Personal Growth Statement
A personal growth statement is your future bio that gives your goals an overarching theme. I think the best way to write your personal growth statement is to consider your goals and to dream about where you want to be in five years. Let Holy Spirit lead you. I want to encourage you to think BIG. You serve a big God who wants to exceed your wildest imaginations. Check out what Ephesians 3:20 has to say about God’s mighty power to work in you.
Never doubt God’s mighty power to work in you and accomplish all this. He will achieve infinitely more than your greatest request, your most unbelievable dream, and exceed your wildest imagination! He will outdo them all, for his miraculous power constantly energizes you.
Ephesians 3:20, TPT
Ask yourself, “where do I see myself in five years?” I decided that in 2028, I want my bio to look something like this one below. I asked myself where I want to be in five years compared my answer to my actionable goals and I wrote this personal growth statement:
Rayna is a wife, mother to 3, blogger, author, and pastoral counselor. She has personally walked through tremendous trials, abuse, and loss. She carries an overcomer anointing which she imparts and teaches to others across the world through her preaching, writing, and counseling ministry. Rayna’s heart is to reach women and lead them to intimacy with Jesus so they can each experience union with Jesus, deep healing, redemption, and restoration. Learn more at seekinghimtoday.com.
Strategy Step 4: Create A Vision Board
You will use your personal growth statement and your actionable goals to create your vision board. I highly recommend getting a bulletin board or a binder for this exercise. Divide your goals into categories. For example, based on my goals and my personal growth statement above the categories for my goals would be: wife, mom, author, counselor, anointing, and preaching.
I would then cast vision by creating short sayings that you cut out and put on your vision board. Just like it says in Habakkuk 2:2, your vision board is a great way to write down the revelation you are receiving from God.
2 Then the Lord replied: “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. 3 For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.
Habakkuk 2:2-3, NIV
Some vision board short sayings examples by category are:
- For wife, Happy Marriage; Anniversary Trip; Date Nights
- For mom, Quality Time With My Children; Game Night; Pray With My Children; Blessing My Children; Creating Connection
- For author, Writing Session; Turn In Manuscript; Meet With Publishers; Weekly Blog Posts
- For counselor, Pray With Others; Read Counseling Books; Write Content For Clients
- For anointing, Pray In Tongues; Read The Word; Meditate On Scripture; Isaiah 61
- For preaching, Teach On Emotional Healing; Share My Story
Strategy Step 5: Set Aside Daily Time With Jesus
Setting aside dedicated time with Jesus every day is a large part of your personal growth strategy because out of this is birthed everything else. I know step one was to seek Jesus but I had to include this vital part to your life in step 5 as well. This is because consistently seeking Him is the path to intimacy. As you deepen your relationship with Father God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit you open yourself up to your God-given destiny.
During your daily prayer time I want to encourage you to read your bible, pray in tongues, and just be with Him. Sometimes I just sit with Jesus and ask Him what’s on His mind that day. The goal is more to be with Him than anything else. As you sit in the secret place with Jesus that everything else will flow.
Look at Psalm 91 verses 14-16. Jesus will rescue you and protect you as you acknowledge His name. You will call on Him and He will answer you.
“Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. 15 He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. 16 With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.”
Psalm 91:14-16, NIV
I created a Prayer Life Journal that will get you started on your journey to meeting with Jesus in the secret place. The Prayer Life Journal is a compilation of my most used journal entries transformed into easy templates for deeper prayer, setting goals, journaling with Jesus and so much more! It’s super easy to use…just download and print. The printable contains worksheets for each of the following:
- Opening Prayer
- Bible Study
- Journal with Jesus
- Prayer Journal
- This Season’s Goals
- My Thinking
- Renewing My Mind
- Reciting I Am’s
- I’m Believing For
- My Decrees
- My Dream Journal Guide
- My Dream Journal Worksheets
- My Prophetic Words
- 30 Days of Gratitude
- Scripture Cut Outs
- Answered Prayers
- Testimonies
You can purchase the prayer life journal printable here.
Strategy Step 6: Start Regularly Journaling Your Thoughts And Feelings
Journaling is the best way to get to know yourself, develop a positive self image, and focus on Jesus and His plan for your life. As you write your deepest thoughts and feelings on paper there is a release that happens. I always feel better after I journal because my thoughts are clearly written down as opposed to swirling in my mind. There is so much peace in journaling.
I have create three guided journals that are available on Amazon. Each of these journals was birthed out of my personal emotional healing journey. I believe my years of writing in my journal brought me to you in this very moment. Journaling is powerful!
Strategy Step 7: Give Dedicated Attention To Emotional Healing
I want to encourage you to give extra attention to your soul which is your mind, will, and emotions. Emotional healing is vital to your overall destiny. Healing your soul starts with giving attention to your thoughts, your feelings, and your childhood.
If you find yourself in a destructive cycle in certain areas of your life then emotional healing is a great place to investigate. You can learn more about the 7 steps to emotional healing here. I also wrote about the healing process here. Both of these articles will explain emotional wellness and the benefits of soul healing in depth.
Some practical ways to begin healing your soul are to book a session with a Christian therapist or counselor or to start reading books on emotional healing. I highly recommend these two books to start:
- Healing the Wounded Soul: Break Free From the Pain of the Past and Live Again by Katie Souza
- The Supernatural Power of Forgiveness: Discover How To Escape Your Prison Of Pain And Unlock A Life Of Freedom by Kris & Jason Vallotton
“Do one thing every day that scares you.”
-Eleanor Roosevelt
Strategy Step 8: Start Working Out & Eating Healthy
Your personal growth strategy needs to include a health plan for your body. We are a three part being consisting of body, soul, and spirit. If we are eating junk and not exercising our bodies we are going to feel bad. There’s no way around it.
I have to admit that I am guilty of putting my body last. In the last few years I have fed my spirit with prayer and teachings and I have done so much emotional healing but I have not paid enough attention to my physical health. Giving my body what it needs always seems to come last for me. I think it has to do with years of self criticism but I am working on it. And I want to encourage you to work on it too!
Eating Healthy
I think the easiest way to start is to swap out some healthy meal options each week. Soft drinks used to be my thing. I loved drinking soft drinks like Sprite and Coke but they were loaded with sugar. I started reducing my intake to once a day, then once a week, then only the weekends. Eventually I cut out soft drinks altogether and haven’t looked back since. Now I love water with lemon! Then, I moved on to the next unhealthy food choice and so on.
Working Out Your Body
Working out is a great habit to form because you are making your body strong for years to come. Strength training is so important if you are over 30 years old because it not only builds muscle but also strengthens your bones. I started working out at a gym then realized that I really liked group classes so I signed up. Try out some different work outs in your area and commit to exercising your body.
If you are looking for a trainer I highly recommend Sarah Hornsby Fitness. Sarah provides one-on-one training and nutrition coaching via Zoom. She can work with you no matter where you live. If you don’t have the time or money to join a gym, I highly recommend working out with a YouTube trainer in your living room. Here are my two favorite YouTube trainers:
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A Recap Of The 8 Step Strategy For Personal Growth
I want to encourage you to start with seeking Jesus intentionally with the goal of personal growth. Get to know Him in a new way by opening your heart to Him. Then you will move on to setting actionable goals, creating your personal growth statement, and crafting your vision board.
These three tools are a guide for your future. If you feel stuck in any of these areas push through and do the best you can. Ask yourself (and Jesus) the hard questions and challenge yourself to grow. I will not sugar coat it and say growth is easy because it is not. But, stepping out of your comfort zone has so many incredible benefits.
“A comfort zone is a beautiful place – but nothing ever grows there.”
-Anonymous
The other five personal growth strategy components are daily prayer, journaling, dedicating time to emotional healing, working out and eating healthier. Each of these habits will contribute to your overall health. As your spirit grows with God (strategy one) you will naturally want to heal your soul and your body. It’s all about stepping out and creating actions to be the best version of yourself with Christ at the center. Leave you questions in the comments!
Did this blog post speak to your heart? I hope so! Sign up today to receive my emails featuring the latest from Seeking Him Today by going to our Stay In Touch page.
