A few years ago I woke up one morning looked in the mirror and felt that something was not right. It was difficult to put my finger on what exactly the problem was but it was there nonetheless. I sat down on my bed and thought hard about who I was and where I was going. Fearing the onset of some sort of 'life crisis' I realised that there was nothing specific wrong with me I was just unsatisfied with life in general.

If you have ever felt that strange feeling that something is not quite right in your life then you will know what I am talking about here. Sometimes when it comes to changing things around in our lives we have very little specifically to go on. Having a fixed goal like losing weight or quitting smoking is great, but for many of us what we need us to curb that niggling doubt at the back of our mind. What we need to do is take stock of ourselves and see what is really going on upstairs.

One of the benefits of personal development is that it can encourage all the healthy parts of you to grow and the less savoury parts to whither on the vine. It can improve our general well being and make us more harmonious inside. All of our emotional processes, our attitudes and values , our beliefs and motivations are interconnected. A holistic approach to ourselves improves our being as a whole.

Personal development is the key to building meaningful and satisfying relationships. By looking at the parts you will begin to understand the whole. By making a commitment now to who you are and where you want to be your life can improve in many different ways. In the sense that the act of personal development is as rewarding as the goal itself it is a win win situation.

Lets imagine for a moment that you decide to create a purpose in your life by losing weight. You set yourself goal of half a stone a month for 6 months. At the end of the 6 months you find out you have just missed out on your target by half a stone. For a second you feel disconsolate but then it hits you. You may have missed your target but look at who you are now- more driven , more motivated . You have higher levels of concentration and a more committed character. In short you have become exactly the sort of person many others aspire to be despite not reaching your goal.

So there is much to be gained from personal development other than the tangible goal itself. So many people are dissatisfied because they have not quite reached the level of personality they want to be at . The good thing is that that feeling of dissatisfaction is the first stage of self awareness. It is self awareness that forms the bedrock of personal development as I will explain next.

Through knowing yourself you understand yourself. Once you understand yourself you can take action to correct the defects that you have detected. It is like going on a voyage of self discovery. Once you have returned from the voyage you are wiser and more confident in yourself and who you are. The great thing about self-awareness is that it is great for revealing what you are capable of.

Few people truly understand the importance of self -awareness. Once you have developed it to a high level you can plan the way you tackle your goals more effectively. Self-awareness is about mastering growth and development. It gives you the ability to master your environment to the best of your ability. It can help you when you are down because you will know why you are down! Developing a heightened sense of self-awareness through introspection and honest self appraisal is one of the single most important things you can do in your life.

Conquering general dissatisfaction can seem difficult at times and maintaining commitment can be problematic. The fact is that setbacks are part and parcel of growth and development. Being able to accept the bad times with the good times means being able to roll with the punches. Accept that there are good days and bad days and become more flexible and pliant to the obstacles in your way. Make the promise to yourself that no matter how dissatisfied you feel now life is only going to get better.