Personal and Spiritual Development Step by Step

Personal and spiritual development are not an easy task. It needs a lot of mental work and self-knowledge to move to the next level. But how to do it?

If you are following a conscious lifestyle, one of your motivations may be personal development and finding your own spiritual path. Often external goals like having a satisfying and happy relationship, finding strength for fighting an illness, earning more money or just finding an inner balance underlie all personal development endeavours. 

However, changes in our lives and their quality will only appear if we are aware of what is causing within us. You can achieve that through humble, persistent inner work and regular meditation.

The Path to Personal and Spiritual Development

The first and most important realization for anyone on a personal development path is that we humans are much more than the body we identify with. Many people feel an inner call to set out to explore this inner path, however, in many cases very few of us have real success. Few know what the real purpose of their higher selves is, how to harness their own power while living the life they have always longed for. 

However, walking a spiritual path does not mean that after completing a few courses, we acquire super abilities to easily solve every problem that appears in our lives. It is a lifelong process, but with perseverance, a willingness to change, and a belief in ourselves, we can achieve remarkable changes in our lives.

Obstacles to Personal and Spiritual Development

Since we were born, we have been taught that we are limited human beings to whom things just happen. The events and experiences of the past years have transformed us into who we are today. These feelings and belief systems limit us in our self-development. 

In order to live a more conscious, happier life, we need to look at all areas of our lives:

Your Traumas from the Past

There were moments in everyone’s life when life was cruel to us. We were hurt, left, abused, cheated on. While the events themselves can’t be changed in retrospect, it is very important how we look back on these memories. If we are still bitter about why someone has left us – and we are trying to come up with all sorts of explanations to process the trauma, we are just holding ourselves back with thoughts like “I’m not good enough” or “I’m definitely not lovable”.

It is important to face the past and look at the trauma you have experienced from a higher perspective. Try to accept what has happened and learn from it. Understand how a particular person or situation has served us. Forgive yourself, love yourself, meditate. And if you still feel like you can’t process what happened on your own, you can choose from a number of techniques and therapists who can help you unlock your blocks. 

Your Fears

The barriers and negative beliefs that exist in our heads limit many of us to really do what our hearts want us to do. The fear of change and the anxiety that triggers it hold us back from who we really could be. Fear is a creation of the mind, which paints all the possible outcomes of one thing at a time — including the worst things that can happen. These images end up getting deeply embedded in our minds and we stay in our comfort zone just so we don’t get in trouble. 

Fear often stems from a lack of self-confidence and goes back to earlier bad experiences. To overcome it, set realistic, well-articulated goals, listen to your intuition and dare to act. Write down on a piece of paper what you are afraid of about one thing. Reading through the list will make you aware that most of your fears are baseless. Take small steps towards your goals, increase your inner flexibility and don’t give up!

Your Image of Yourself 

As long as you are angry with yourself and punish yourself for what happened in the past, you cannot move forward and rise above those feelings. Your belief systems and programs control all your thoughts and actions. Most of these developed in childhood, we identify ourselves based on what we hear from our parents and peers. As adults, we managed to build a small magazine out of them, which we use unknowingly.

Your image of yourself will determine if you believe in yourself: what you are capable of, how much you are loved. It can be a positive and useful practice to write down all your good qualities on a piece of paper – everything you are yourself and build on them.

Your Relationships and Environment

Following a conscious lifestyle and spiritual path requires a kind of inner attitude that can be greatly influenced by your environment and the people around you. If you feel that certain people do not understand and hold you back in your progress, it might be a good idea to directly address your concerns and – if the issue can’t be worked out and there is no other solution – to reduce contact with this person. Your relationships affect your feelings, your opportunities, and your self-image. Choose them wisely!

We hope you found our article useful and thought-provoking. Follow us on Facebook to always be the first to know about the latest content. We wish everyone another happy day and successful development!

barbara