Choosing to implement positive change to yourself is an awesome and powerful commitment. This article is designed to advise and encourage you toward personal development and bringing yourself to a higher level of happiness and achievement. Of course, this will not be a cake walk. In fact, it may very well be difficult but with the right guidance and devotion, you are completely capable of reaching all of your goals and becoming a more successful person in every aspect of your life.

The first step in personal development is recognizing and admitting that there is a gap in your life between where you are, and where you would like to be. Many people don't do this, but it is an essential step. If you don't recognize a problem, how can you find a solution?

A common problem in people's lives is living in the comfort zone, or never doing anything they're uncomfortable with. If you're looking to improve yourself, leaving your comfort zone is essential. Set a date for taking a risk you're uncomfortable with, and make sure to stick to it. We can only grow when we're uncomfortable.

Do not allow yourself to resent your present life by grading it against the future and all of the things that you have not yet been able to achieve. Instead, look for ways to link your future to your present. Determine how well your current situation lends itself as a starting point for all the specific things you hope to someday experience.

Figure out what you want to do with yourself. This doesn't mean that you need to map out your entire life in advance. Consider the next five years. Where do you want to be? What does your life look like? If you evaluate this vision you can pull apart the layers and determine the best course of action to get where you need to be.

Don't be afraid to share ideas with other people. Especially if you work in the creative industry, try sharing ideas with family, friends and your peers. The old days of keeping your ideas to yourself are over. If you keep jumping from idea to idea without feedback, then you can't possibly know what is working and why.

Remember that you will never ever be able to change another person. Yet you can change yourself. So get moving and set goals to change. You may be worried about someone else or their behavior, yet all you can do is change how you look at the situation. Save your energy on changing yourself, not trying to convince everyone around you to change.

If you want to improve yourself, practice being unselfish. When you are willing to give up your time, energy, and resources to help other people, you start to realize the true person within you. As you learn to care about other people beyond yourself, you begin to bring out the best in yourself.

When looking at life try to focus on the positive. It is just too easy to look at the negative and compare yourself to others and see that they have this or that. Turn it around and just focus on yourself and what it is that you actually do have. This will give you a better outlook on life.

Give yourself short-term goals of less than a month. This can motivate you and give you that extra spark you need to make that goal come true. Plan a great reward and watch yourself reach that goal in no time. Make new goals every few weeks and see how well you can do.

Planning for success is the first step in achieving it and hopefully, this article has you planning all kinds of ways to improve yourself, your attitude and in turn, your life. Personal development is a life long path of continuous improvement. Recognizing the need for change and making it happen is what happiness and self-fulfillment are all about. Take what you have learned and incorporate it into your blueprint for self improvement and success!